Wine Advisor
Casanova di Neri, Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto 2004
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Description
Cerretalto is a special blend of intuition, passion and vision – the hallmark of all Casanova di Neri’s work. The grapes hail mainly from a vineyard situated in a natural amphitheatre alongside a small river. The prized white truffles which grow in our private truffle reserve here bear witness to the purity of this environment. Soil rich in minerals, a very particular microclimate and low yield per plant coupled with our experience, dedication and passion for our work in the vineyard and in the cellar make Cerretalto a wine of immense character and harmonious structure. It's a wine of exceptional quality, personality and inimitable style – the perfect expression of the territory that nurtures it, the distillation of our idea of what a great Brunello should be. Cerretalto is a wine of outstanding character. Its uniqueness lies in the aroma’s graphite notes and sanguine undertones, and the extraordinary length and persistence of flavour on the palate. Its collection of accolades is incredible and unmatched: 100/100 Wine Advocate, 100/100 Wine Spectator, 100/100 James Suckling, 100/100 Falstaff, 100/100 Luca Gardini, 100/100 International Wine Report, 100/100 Wine Enthusiast.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto is deep and powerful in its smoke, tar, spices, scorched earth and plums. The wine has shut down quite a bit since I last tasted it a few months ago, and the refined silky tannins that were present a while back have turned decidedly virile. Still, the wine’s pedigree is impossible to miss, and the only thing this needs is time, probably lots of it. Pretty scents of soy, smoke and incense inform the long, elegant finish. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2024. Proprietor Giacomo Neri makes some of the richest, most textured Brunellos readers will come across. The house style favors a lush expression of fruit with a softness that makes the wines very appealing upon release. In recent years the wines have become more elegant, with less of the excessive heaviness that characterized prior vintages. Based on what I tasted from barrel, future vintages hold quite a bit of promise as well. This year, readers – especially those on a budget (who isn’t on a budget these days?) should focus on the 2005 Brunello di Montalcino (sometimes also known as the ‘white label’), which is an overachiever because it includes fruit from the Cerretalto vineyard, the source of the estate’s top wine, which was not bottled in 2005. Importer: Dalla Terra, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 259-5405
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
As you can well imagine, the 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto was absolutely explosive on the palate, and even more so because it followed the stylistically traditional, more understated and more ethereal wines from Montalcino in this tasting--such as Cerbaiona and Salvioni. Giacomo Neri's Brunello would stand tall among the wines from Bolgheri and coastal Tuscany, given the thicker extraction, textural richness and power he strives to achieve. Despite the more robust Bordelaise style, the wine maintains a brilliant sense of balance, finesse and poise that is only evident in the greatest expressions of Brunello. When Robert Parker and I asked our audience to name their favorite wines in this flight of ten, the Cerretalto and the Masseto garnished the most votes. The wine is supple and velvety in texture with a long, polished finished. My favorite quality in great Brunello are the balsam herb aromas you get with Sangiovese that is ripened with deep diurnal shifts between day and nighttime temperatures right before harvest. This wine delivers those in spades.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
No doubt, Casanova di Neri shows some of its best work in this decade, starting with the super voluptuous 2001 vintage and ending with the superbly fine and powerful 2010 edition. The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto is closer to the 2001 expression in style and personality. This wine shows deep richness and plumpness with black fruit nuances that segue to exotic spice, bitter chocolate and cured tobacco. Those lingering balsam notes of rosemary and medicinal herb remind you of the Montalcino territory. Smoke, tar, licorice and crushed flint underline the evolved nature of this balanced Tuscan red. If you have a bottle in your cellar, you could drink it now or hold off longer.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
No doubt, Casanova di Neri shows some of its best work in this decade, starting with the super voluptuous 2001 vintage and ending with the superbly fine and powerful 2010 edition. The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto is closer to the 2001 expression in style and personality. This wine shows deep richness and plumpness with black fruit nuances that segue to exotic spice, bitter chocolate and cured tobacco. Those lingering balsam notes of rosemary and medicinal herb remind you of the Montalcino territory. Smoke, tar, licorice and crushed flint underline the evolved nature of this balanced Tuscan red. If you have a bottle in your cellar, you could drink it now or hold off longer.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This is spicy and very, very rich with light raisin and hints of vanilla bean character. It’s full and velvety textured with a long and flavorful finish. Structured and refined. Drink now or hold.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Fascinating aromas of mushrooms, dark berries and new leather follow through to a full body, soft and velvety tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Very lush and intense, even exotic. One of the wines of the vintage. Drink now or hold.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Neri's 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto is silky, supple and open-knit. It has also aged the best of the three 2004 Brunellos. Dark cherry jam, spice, herbs, earthiness, black pepper, licorice, menthol and sweet spices are nicely pushed forward. I would prefer to drink the 2004 over the next few years, as it will not be a long-lived wine.
About the Producer
Casanova di Neri is founded by Giovanni Neri, a 48-year-old grain merchant from the town of Montevarchi in the Arno valley south of Florence. Passionate about wine, Neri had long dreamed of making a great Italian red, and although the long-established wine zone of Chianti Classico was just on his doorstep, it was remote Montalcino and its austere Sangiovese wines that fascinated him. Brunello di Montalcino had achieved DOC (controlled origin) status just four years previously, and there were still only around thirty producers in the whole area, compared to more than 250 today. One rural property on the market had caught Neri’s attention during his frequent forays to Montalcino: Podere Casanova, a working farm of around 200 hectares on the eastern side of town. Wine represented only a small part of the farm’s production at the time, and what was made was sold in bulk, but Neri recognized that thanks to its altitude, aspect and soil composition, the place had the potential to make great Brunellos. In May 1971, he bought Podere Casanova, changed its name to Casanova di Neri, and in consultation with some of Tuscany’s leading winemakers, immediately began work to restore the estate’s existing Sangiovese vines and plant new ones.
