Casanova di Neri

Founded in 1971 by Giovanni Neri, this estate has quickly achieved international acclaims with wines awarded the coveted perfect 100 points. Casanova di Neri has earned its place amongst the best producers in Brunello di Montalcino.

The elite group of Montalcino’s best producers can no longer fail to include Giacomo Neri and his winery - Gambero Rosso

Defining today’s Brunello with purity and perfection of fruit. - James Suckling

Casanova di Neri’s Story

Casanova di Neri was founded in 1971 by Giovanni Neri. Passionate about wine, Neri had long dreamed of making a great Italian red and remote Montalcino with its austere Sangiovese wines fascinated him. He found a working farm of 200 hectares, Podere Casanova, on the eastern side of Montalcino. Thanks to its altitude, aspect and soil composition, Neri saw the place had the potential to make great Brunellos. He purchased the estate, consulted some of Tuscany’s leading winemakers, and immediately began work to restore the existing Sangiovese vines and also planted new ones. After Giovanni passed away in 1991, his son Giacomo took the reins, and is now accompanied by his sons, Giovanni and Gianlorenzo.

The first Brunello di Montalcino was bottled in 1978 and shortly after, the wines achieved universal acclaim. Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova 2001 was the first of Neri’s wine to receive the perfect 100 points from Wine Spectator. Leading Italian wine guide Gambero Rosso has elevated Casanova di Neri’s wines as part of “The elite group of Montalcino’s best producers”.

Vineyards & Winemaking

The estate has seven vineyards: Fiesole, Cerretalto, Collalli, Podernuovo, Pietradonice, Giovanni Neri and Cetine. The main soil is mainly composed of ‘galestro’ (rocky clay soil), with which the Sangiovese grape has such a strong affinity. However, each vineyard has its own identity with mineral component, exposition, microclimate and age of the vines creating wines with their own personality. The vineyards are planted with their own clone they bred from a selection of Sangiovese Grosso sourced from the Cerretalto vineyard.

Facing north, the cellar is almost completely built into the hillside, ensuring constant, naturally regulated levels of temperature and humidity. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled, open-topped truncated conical vats of steel and wood. They have adopted some Burgundian method to age the wines slowly in wood barrels, in two spacious, atmospheric barrel rooms.

2019 - The Growing Season

It started with a very wet spring with few heat spikes preparing the vines for the summer ahead. Temperatures in July and August were hot during the day with cooler temperature at night than recent years while September was warm, allowing for a long ripening season. The result is generously aromatic wines with juicy fruit and structure. The vintage has been compared to 2016, a classic in Brunello, however, it seems more approchable in its youth.

The Scores

Brunello di Montalcino Giovanni Neri 2019 (only 9,600 bt made - Drinking window 2026-2050) - Secure your allocation now

Cherry, flower and cedar aromas follow through to a full body with lots of pure and juicy fruit character. Creamy and savory with a crushed bean and cherry aftertaste. Defining today’s Brunello with purity and perfection of fruit. Making the most of an outstanding vintage. A selection from a seven-hectare parcel of 50-year-old vines. Drink after 2026. - 100 points James Suckling

Wow, this wine steals the show. A new addition to the Casanova di Neri portfolio now in its second year, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Giovanni Neri pays tribute to Giacomo Neri's father and represents a stylistic shift to the most elegant side of Montalcino. The wine reveals a very nuanced bouquet with toasted cherry pit, Luxardo syrup and balsam herb. There is dark slate and stony mineral that dovetail into a very clean and pretty earthiness. The tannins are slightly sweeter compared to other wines from this vintage, and there are fragrant tones of heritage rose and lilac. The ratio between tannin and fruit is excellent, and I can see this wine aging long into the future. - 98 points Monica Larner, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova 2019 (Drinking window 2026-2050) - Secure your allocation now

In my mind, this is the wine that best represents the Casanova di Neri house style. With 30 months of aging in tonneaux, it shows enormous richness and texture, and the stellar fruit quality appears with more primary elegance compared to the more expensive Cerretalto that is released with an extra year of aging. That dynamic is especially pronounced in a comparison of the 2019 and 2018 vintages. The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova has a dark vein of toasted spice, black fruit, ink, blackberry compote, licorice and star anise. Dark as night, it is exceptionally well crafted with a robust delivery of concentrated fruit and solid tannic structure. You can count on excellent cellar potential, or at a minimum, serve it with a classic steak. Production is exactly 69,696 bottles. - 97 points Monica Larner, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Brunello di Montalcino 2019 (Drinking window 2025-2038) - Secure your allocation now

The Casanova di Neri 2019 Brunello di Montalcino shows thick fruit fabric with stitchings of underbrush, pressed rose, bright cherry, tobacco and balanced oak spice. This wine definitely has a special groove. It offers a ripe, round texture with good acidity followed by fine, chalky tannins. This is impressive quality for 109,600 bottles produced. In fact, this is one of the best village Brunellos from Giacomo Neri and his family made so far. - 95 points Monica Larner, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate