Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2016 Red Wine

Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2016

Tuscany, Italy

95 pts. Wine Spectator:

"Shows fine depth, with cherry, black currant and wild herb flavors, accented by iron, earth, leather and tobacco notes. Muscular, despite a slim frame, with a long, savory aftertaste."

94 pts. Wine Advocate:

"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." -Monica Larner

94 pts. Vinous:

"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." -Eric Guido

FROM THE WINERY

Usual very young ruby red. Great balance at the nose among small red fruits and spices followed by hints of chocolate. The greatness of the vintage comes out immediately at the first sip: amazing balance among all the components with perfectly ripe tannins and bright acidity. Everything is standing for a great immediate pleasure providing at the same time a great aging potential.

VINTAGE NOTES

The 2016 vintage is the perfect balance among elegance, opulence, structure and complexity. Winter was warmer than average with some rain in February while budding was regular during the first week of April. Flowering took place on the last week of May with sunnier days, following a mild summer with sporadic rainfall. Ripening process was slowly but consistent, also thanks to the big range between day and night temperatures right before harvest.

HARVEST: Manual in the first week of October

VINIFICATION: We select the bunches manually before de-stemming and selecting the grapes with an optical selector. After that, spontaneous fermentation without added yeasts follows and maceration is facilitated by frequent pressing. Everything takes place in conical steel vats at controlled temperature for 25 days.

AGEING IN OAK BARRELS 43 months
AGEING IN BOTTLES 6 months
ALCHOL/VOL. 14,5°
DRY ESTRACT 29,9
TOTAL ACIDITY 5,7