Wine Advisor
Casanova di Neri, Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova 2010
View analysis
Description
Tenuta Nuova is a pioneering and visionary vineyard project emboding the belief and passion of Casanova di Neri. Tenuta Nuova means new property; Tenuta Nuova is a place where nobody planted Sangiovese before; Tenuta Nuova is the will of Casanova di Neri to produce a powerful yet drinkable Brunello with a high ageing potential. The project began with the study of varied local microclimates and their optimal exposures. Through a cautious and passionate research Casanova di Neri has used the most sophisticated scientific investigations to determine the clones, rootstocks, cultivation practices, plant density per hectare and every possible particular to obtain excellent Sangiovese grapes.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova is a protagonist of the vintage. The fruit is deep and dark with rich levels of extract, intensity and flavor. It goes far beyond your standard cherry and blackberry to include plum cake, spice bread and bacon-wrapped prune. Nothing is obvious or monochromatic about this wine. Everything is nuanced and ethereal. Tenuta Nuova is also distinguished by the linear mineral notes that are characteristic of this single-vineyard site. In 2010, those traits are especially well-defined and pronounced. The tannins reach a level of suppleness that is almost impossible to find in the sometimes prickly and acidic Sangiovese grape. If there is one thing Giacomo Neri has mastered, it is harvesting at optimal ripeness: He knows his property and his vines better than most and it shows. Collectors will want to put this wine aside ten years or longer.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
This is a gorgeous wine. The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova is just as impressive now as when I first tasted it three years ago. The only edit I would make to my original 100-point review is an extension to the drinking window. The bouquet is absolutely seamless, yet it shows pencil-point precision with dark fruit that flows into spice, tobacco and crushed mineral. The wine's aromatic intensity is forthright and compelling, as is the polished and fine nature of the mouthfeel. This is a cellar keeper.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This is very muscular for the vintage. It shows lots of stones, dark fruits and hints of tar. Full body, firm tannins and a chewy texture. Ripe and rich. Yet shows tension and intensity. This racy and structured. Tannic now but will show its greatness in 2018. As it should be from one of the masters but the new hand of his son Giovanni Neri is showing through with a touch more finesse.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This is very muscular for the vintage. It shows lots of stones, dark fruits and hints of tar. Full body, firm tannins and a chewy texture. Ripe and rich, but shows tension and intensity. This is racy and structured. Tannic now but will show its greatness in 2018. As it should be from one of the masters, but the new hand of his son Giovanni Neri is showing through with a touch more finesse.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This is a wine with fabulous scale and depth, as well as perfectly polished and refined tannins and wonderful length. Full body, yet so balanced and refined. The combination of focused fruit, tight tannins and bright acidity gives this incredible length. What a wine? A new sensibility to the whole thing. Drink or hold.
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.
