Conti Costanti Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva 2016 (1.5L)

100 WE / 98 DE / 98 VM / 97 WS / 95 WA / 18 JR

#14 Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2022

This perfumed wine opens with layers of scents, including violet, woodland berries, new leather, forest floor and warm spices. Smooth and elegantly structured, the savory palate boasts juicy black-skinned berry, blood orange, licorice, tobacco and the barest hint of coffee bean alongside taut, fine-grained tannins. Bright acidity keeps it impeccably balanced. Drink 2026–2046. Kerin O’Keefe, Wine Enthusiast

Andrea Costanti believes resolutely that 2016 was a year to make a Riserva. His is confidently extracted by a skilled hand and demonstrates the formidable structure, profundity and length to ride out well over a couple of decades. Even on the nose you sense the depth as coffee, leather, wet soil and tobacco intertwine. Filling every corner of the mouth, it stretches out with a tactile chalkiness. Dark earthy nuances are brightened by blood orange and red plum. That pleasant bitter citrus peel echoes on the finish. This is commanding rather than seductive at the moment.-Michela Morris, Decanter

A deeply sensual bouquet of freshly sliced plums, crushed violets, mentholated herbs and Tuscan dust rises up from the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. This is deeply textural while also cool-toned and refined, with mineral-tinged red and black berries cascading across a core of brisk acidity. Tension builds throughout, as grippy tannins mount toward the close, nicely contrasted by a burst of sour citrus. There's a crystalline structure to the 2016 that tempts the imagination as to what the future will bring, and it tapers off long, youthfully poised, yet also remarkably fresh. Time will only increase the depths of the 2016 Riserva, a wine that I seriously look forward to tasting again in five to ten years.-Eric Guido, Vinous Media

Packed with plum, black cherry and blackberry flavors, this solid red is a bit closed today, despite its freshness. Floral, earth, wild herb and mineral accents chime in as this follows through on the resonant finish. All the components are in the right place. Best from 2025 through 2043.-Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is darkly saturated and quite rich; however, this classic vintage also delivers an enhanced level of sharpness and focus too. Dark cherry, plum and other black or purple fruits cede to pretty acidic freshness and a sense of tight buoyancy and vitality, which are among the best qualities of this vintage.-Monica Larner, Wine Advocate

Lustrous ruby with orange tinges. Concentrated, ripe cherry nose with minerally hints. Focused cherry fruit with gorgeous, succulent acidity. On the finish the fruit is still a little compact and with a layer of fine-grained long tannins. A beauty in the making.--Walter Speller, Jancis Robinson