The Casanova di Neri winery is located in the northeast of Montalcino, on the road to Torrenieri. Surrounding the winery is their Fiesole vineyard, with its Galestro soils and elevations ranging up to 380 meters. Farther east, in fact as far east in Montalcino that you can go, they also tend the Cerretalto vineyard, which feeds their late-release cru wine. Here, elevations are lower, yet the soils are unique, almost red with iron, mixing galestro marl with alluvial stones, eroded rock and magnesium. It is also from this sight, using massal selection, that Giacomo Neri planted his other vineyards. Moving slightly to the west, Podernuovo brings its high-elevation fruit to the mix, situated between 420-490 meters. And then to the south, for its warmer climate, lower elevations and the plush contours they create. Here we find Cetine near Sant’Angelo and the Giovanni Neri vineyard on the road to Castelnuovo dell’Abate. In fact, it’s a total of seven vineyards that the Neri family uses to compose their Brunello portfolio. While Cerretalto brings the power and mineral intensity, and Tenuta Nuova brings the elegance and balanced opulence, it’s the Brunello di Montalcino (often referred to as the “White Label”), with its classic lines and vivid fruit profile, that is the overachiever. This is only possible through an intricate understanding of terroir and how to blend it to perfection. In 2023, we’ll also see the release of Giacomo Neri’s next cru Brunello, the Giovanni Neri, coming from their Castelnuovo dell’Abate location, and an acquired vineyard that was already planted with fifty-year- old vines (which is quite old by Montalcino standards). Until that time, we can all get a taste of this new location through the Rosso di Montalcino “Giovanni Neri”. Gianlorenzo Neri (Giacomo Neri’s son) described 2017 as “the most Mediterranean vintage ever”. The property experienced a 35% loss of production to maintain integrity of the wines, so the family decided to place all of the Cerretalto fruit into the “White Label” Brunello, giving it a serious boost in character. Not afraid of technology, the Neri family also depended on rigorous selection through optical sorting. In the end, whether you consider their more modern leanings a blessing or a curse, this family is making some of the best wine in Montalcino.
