“Costabate” Sangiovese di Toscana IGT 2019 · MAGNUM in OWC

Uccelliera | Tuscany
Az. Agr. Uccelliera | Podere Uccelliera 45 | IT 53024 Castelnuovo dell'Abate

09982619 · 1,5 l · 166,00 €/l · Price (DE) incl. VAT, excl. Shipping6 units available

There are wines that reveal more about a producer than anything else. Costabate is such a wine. Andrea Cortonesi could have bottled these grapes as Brunello. The vineyards are classified, the vines have been rooted in Castelnuovo dell'Abate since 1988 and the terroir is the same as for his Riserva. But he decided against it. Not because the result would be inferior to Brunello – but because he wanted something different. Something more personal. Something that does not obey the rules of a denomination, but only his own idea of what Sangiovese can be on this hill.

Costabate is only produced in the best years. 850 numbered magnums – no more. Grapes from all three altitudes of his seven-hectare estate, each in equal proportions: the freshness of the 350-metre vineyard, the density of 250, the warmth and minerality of the lower 150-metre plots. Three terroirs, three microclimates, one wine. The 2019 vintage – long, even ripening, no heat stress, harvest from 25 September – provided the conditions that Cortonesi needs for this wine: complete phenolic ripeness without heaviness. In the cellar, the same craft as for Brunello and Riserva – cold maceration, spontaneous fermentation over 25 to 30 days. But then the decisive difference: at least 18 months exclusively in French barriques made from centuries-old oak. Then at least two years of rest in the bottle.

Deep ruby red colour. The bouquet is dense, complex and beguilingly still – dark cherry, cedar wood, tobacco, leather, dried herbs from the Maremma, a fine smoky note from the long ageing in barriques. Velvety, concentrated on the palate, with a precision that you would not expect from an IGT. Long, mineral-spicy finish with a lingering aftertaste that doesn't hurry. Incidentally, the name Costabate is derived from the slope of the abbey – that of Sant'Antimo, which has towered over the hamlet of Castelnuovo dell'Abate since the 9th century. SUPERIORE.DE