2016 Brunello di Montalcino, Cerretalto, Casanova di Neri, Tuscany, Italy
- Red
- Dry
- Full Bodied
- Sangiovese
Ready - youthful
- James Suckling
- 100/100
- Eric Guido
- 97/100
- Michaela Morris
- 98/100
- Monica Larner
- 98/100
- Bruce Sanderson
- 98/100
Product: 20168029317
Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2016
Maturity Ready - youthful
Grape List Sangiovese
Body Full Bodied
Producer Casanova di Neri
Critics reviews
James Suckling 100/100
Wow. Incredible purity and transparency with cherries, bark, mushroom, flower and slate/stone on the nose. Full-bodied yet agile and fresh with a fine tannin structure that runs the length of the wine and goes on forever. The polish, elegance and grace is breathtaking. Power with agility. A revelation for the 2016 vintage in Brunello. Drink in 2024 and onwards but wonderful to taste now.james_suckling, jamessuckling_com (Feb 2022)
Eric Guido 97/100
There’s something intriguing, alluringly dark, earthy – animal, even – yet floral and packed full of rich black fruits and exotic spices that defines the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto. This impresses with its cool-toned dark berries and minerals, complemented by bright acidity and sweet inner herbal tones. It’s not yet ready to reveal all of its charms, though it drops subtle hints each step of the way. A bitter twang keeps the expression lively and fresh, while grippy tannins saturate deeply and leave the palate aching with youthful tension, as notes of licorice, clove and a hint of ginger linger. What a wine!Drink 2026 - 2034eric_guido, Vinous.com.com (Oct 2021)
Michaela Morris 98/100
Cerretalto is bottled separately in selected vintages only. It is given an additional year of ageing and is typically still patently austere when released. While the 2015 was almost uncharacteristically fleshy, 2016 is a return to Cerretalto’s sinewy personality. It opens gradually with distinct flint, creosote and smoke-infused wild black currants and thyme. The palate is powerful without being weighty, with chiselled tannins that are rigid but not hard-edged. A concentrated core of black salted liquorice, black raspberry and iron is pierced by tangy acidity. Ultimately an elegant wine, this will need time to express all its nuance.Drink 2025 - 2045Michaela Morris, Decanter.com (Nov 2021)
Monica Larner 98/100
Here's an important keepsake from a classic vintage. The Casanova di Neri 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto needs time to open, especially if you plan to drink the wine earlier than is recommended (you're best off waiting five years or more). This powerful wine is packed tight with black fruit, plum and summer ripe cherry. Those dark fruit tones segue to spice, baked clay, balsam herb and gardening soil. The oak is always more apparent in the Cerretalto (which is released one year later, as if it were a Riserva) compared to the Tenuta Nuova. The vineyard used makes a big difference, giving this wine more textural weight and thicker fiber. It's all a question of taste, but if you want power (with 15% alcohol), richness, sensuality and voluptuousness in your Brunello, Cerretalto is the bottle at the end of the rainbow.Drink 2025 - 2050monica_larner, Wine Advocate (Feb 2022)
Bruce Sanderson 98/100
A dense, racy and expressive red, offering black cherry, black currant, violet and iron aromas and flavors, with a hint of rosemary. This is driven by vivid acidity and refined tannins, which lend both finesse and length. Shows great harmony and elegance. Best from 2025 through 2047. 828 cases made. Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator (Mar 2022)
About this wine
Sangiovese
A black grape widely grown in Central Italy and the main component of Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano as well as being the sole permitted grape for the famed Brunello di Montalcino.
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Casanova di Neri
Casanova di Neri are one of the region’s foremost producers of a more modern or international style of Brunello. Characterised by rich, unctuous, dark fruit and of cool, fine tannins and succulent yet refined oak framing the wine beautifully. Tenuta Nuova is a single vineyard wine selected from one very special part of their seven vineyards. The family’s intention was to encapsulate as closely as possible the unique terroir and microclimate that this special vineyard enjoys. Something is clearly working very well here, as the wine is hugely popular around the world but its level of critical acclaim is hugely consistent: it not been scored less than 95 points by The Wine Advocate since before 2010. James Suckling, who largely made his name with his analysis of the region many years ago, has only once dipped below 95 points over the same period.
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