The Neri family has created a classic expression of Sangiovese from a classic vintage, while remaining faithful to the house style. In a nutshell, these wines always tend to offer dark plum, clove and fig confit over the tiny berry and blue flower aromas you get from the traditionalists. That said, this Brunello needs ample time to open, and I suggest you splash it into the decanter. The Casanova di Neri 2015 Brunello di Montalcino (this is the one with the white label) stays safely within your expectation of the vintage with its variety-driven aromas of wild berry, licorice, blue flower and balsam herb. It was bottled in June 2019, and it hit the market in January 2020. You might want more from the aromatics (while you wait for the bouquet to come around), but this wine goes gangbusters in terms of mid-palate and overall texture.

The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova was quite restrained at first, requiring time in the glass to fully blossom, as subtle red berry fruits slowly gain volume and are then complemented by sweet red florals with hints of exotic spice, peppery herbs, and dusty minerals. On the palate, silky textures flood the senses with rich red berry fruits and sweet herbal tones, leaving hints of savory spice and minerals in their wake. The finish is long and unexpectedly fresh, showing the first hints of round tannins under a top note of sweet cherry, plum and a hint of black tea. There is so much going on here, yet it is all densely wrapped up in its youthful state.

The Casanova di Neri 2016 Brunello di Montalcino (or the so-called "white label" Brunello) takes a minute or two to open, and like all these new releases from the Neri family, you're best off opening your bottle five hours before serving them. This classic expression displays raspberry, tar, hazelnut, dried fig, asphalt and some crushed chalk. The wine is streamlined and compact in terms of mouthfeel, giving us an accessible Brunello from a benchmark Montalcino estate.

Aromas of blackberries, cherries, violets and bark with mahogany. It’s full-bodied and chewy with intense tannins that are layered and focused. The fruit is pure and purposeful, yet not over done. Wonderful strength and purity to this. Class is the word. Try it after 2024.

This is one of my sweetheart wines from Montalcino. The Casanova di Neri 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova offers a long list of aromas on an ever-shifting and fluid bouquet. You get bright cherry, rose potpourri, black truffle, caramel, butterscotch, sandalwood, road pavement and chalky mineral. In fact, each time I come back to this wine, that mineral element seemed to grow in intensity and scope. The wine offers a grounded fruit side that is contrasted nicely against a grounded oak component. The mouthfeel is creamy and long, and the wine shows terrific tannic integration. When you come back hours later, you might find black olive, bresaola and licorice.

This is a momentous wine with incredible power and structure that has so much minerality and crushed-stone character to the black cherries and blueberries. Full-bodied and tannic, yet the tannins are layered and polished with a glorious, creamy and juicy texture that coats your mouth. It goes on for minutes. Incredible wine. Try after 2025.

Casanova di Neri's 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a wine of pleasurable contrasts but also massive structure. Ripe dark fruits and autumnal spices offset savory herbs and hints of animal musk. It enters the mouth silky, cooling and lifted, with a noticeable inner sweetness to its polished cherry/berry flavors, but it then sways more toward inner earth, minerals and grippy tannins. The 2016 urges you to take another sip, as there’s so much upfront appeal; yet each time you do, it reminds you once again that it’s a painfully young Brunello in need of cellaring. That said, the potential here is incredibly high.

The Casanova di Neri 2016 Brunello di Montalcino (or the so-called "white label" Brunello) takes a minute or two to open, and like all these new releases from the Neri family, you're best off opening your bottle five hours before serving them. This classic expression displays raspberry, tar, hazelnut, dried fig, asphalt and some crushed chalk. The wine is streamlined and compact in terms of mouthfeel, giving us an accessible Brunello from a benchmark Montalcino estate.