Deep dark velvety ruby red. Opulent bouquet of sour cherry, mulberry, some damp leaves and laurel. In addition, the typical Neri spice of wood, tobacco and broom. On the palate, an open-hearted fruit paired with the precision of a monumental Brunello frame, which, along with fine sweetness, keeps the balance with the taut acidic nerve and leads into an almost endless finish. A classy wine, the likes of which we rarely see in the glass.
During the Cretaceous period, when almost all of today's Italy lay beneath the seabed, seismic geological shifts began that eventually resulted in the rich mix of soils and rocks found in Casanova di Neri's seven vineyards. Over the following millennia, it shaped the hills of Montalcino and the basins of the Ombrone and Orcia rivers that surround it, creating a soil like the crumbly clay shale known as galestro, on which the Sangiovese grape reaches its best potential. The soil here is also rich in special minerals, such as the precious onyx, which was found in the Pietradonice vineyard on the site of a former quarry. The winery owns 7 wonderful vineyards: Fiesole, Cerretalto, Collalli, Podernuovo, Pietradonice, Giovanni Neri and Cetine.
There’s a lot in this wine, in terms of complexity, that is all underpinned by concentrated, ripe and assertive red cherries. The oak is nicely placed and there’s a sense of purpose and build on the palate that really sets it apart. High-class tannins.
