Wine Advisor
Casanova di Neri, Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto 2018
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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: Monica Larner
Showing dried blackberry, balsam herb, vapor rub and a hint of charred chili spice, this wine offers an aromatic profile that is very much in line with a vintage that saw cool spring temperatures and a hot summer. The Casanova di Neri 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto is a wine of depth, dusty tannins and a slightly evolved fruit character. I tasted this 2018 Cerretalto next to the estate's new releases from 2019, and the latter vintage certainly offers more overall clarity and crunch. The Neri family does great work with tannin management, and although there is some chalkiness here, the wine's structure is expertly folded into the fruit concentration. Only 9,700 bottles were made.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Black cherries and dried cherries are allied with notes of balsamic, leather and minty earthiness, but it needs time to open up. Full-bodied on the palate with good fruit concentration and refined tannins. Still youthful, with grainy oak touches. Hints of graphite in the polished finish. Very savory. Best from 2028.
Reviewed by: Eric Guido
The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto is exotic and perfumed, displaying all of the vibrancy of the vintage through a deep core of dark red fruit, lavender tones and foreign spices. It's lifted and finessed, displaying remarkable balance. Cooling acidity combines with tactile mineral tones and citrus-laced wild berry fruits that swirl throughout. It finishes crunchy and long, leaving crystalline tannins, a blackberry concentration and a tinge of licorice. Despite the conditions of the year, this is a genuinely harmonious Brunello that will excel with cellaring. The 2018 benefitted from an extra week of hang-time leading up to harvest.
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.
