2017 Casanova di Neri "Tenuta Nuova" Brunello di Montalcino

CASANOVA DI NERI: MODERN BRUNELLO WITH A DEEP HISTORY

Since founding his winery in 1971, no one has made as great a case for modernized Brunello as Giacomo Neri. For a historic wine with roots in the 16th century, the last decades were turbulent for Brunello. Demand pushed producers to plant heavily in less suitable subzones, new oak use was getting out of control, and by 2003, even top producers were caught passing off Merlot in their wines. Not distracted by the noise, Neri spent those years honing his meticulous and bold winemaking. He's known for his polished style, decorating Sangiovese's rustic sour cherry with intoxicatingly fragrant notes of vanilla and crushed clove. While he's no stranger to oak, his style is not the one size fits all Brunello au barrique approach seen elsewhere in Montalcino. Neri's weapon of choice is the 500L tonneaux, with toast level and timing matched to the structure of the fruit.

His entry-level "White Label" spends 43 months in wood, adding opulence to the tight acid core of fruit from Neri's coolest vineyards. Tenuta Nuova dials back the barrel ageing to three years, letting each single vineyard expression shine through. Tenuta Nuova comes from rocky galestro soil south of Montalcino. It's structured and supremely age-worthy, highlighting Sanigovese's savory herbal streak. These are some of the most beautiful and hedonistically approachable wines we've seen out of Montalcino, must-tries for any Italian wine lover. - BRANDON KERNE, MASTER SOMMELIER