Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova 2015 750ml

This has a beautiful, complex bouquet of dried herbs, white truffles, asphalt, cherry stones, peppercorns, spice and tea leaves. It’s full-bodied with firm, tight and very focused tannins. Bright. Layered. So much going on. I like the salty character. The finish starts slow and is almost endless. Fantastic to taste already, but will just get better.

Giacomo Neri and his family have crafted a wine that impresses from the first sip forward (especially when the wine is given ample time to open). The Casanova di Neri 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova must be treated with patience, and that patience is returned with many great rewards. Blackberry, plum and summer cherry are slowly folded into lasting flavors of spice, leather and beautiful balsam or medical herb. These are always a distinctive signature of this estate. The aromas flow with seamless transitions, and that fluid and ever-changing nature of the bouquet is what helps to build intensity and staying power. Fruit is harvested from a south- and southeast-facing slope at 250 to 300 meters above sea level. The soils are mixed loosely with crushed rock, allowing access to air and moisture. Indeed, pretty mineral accents appear as the wine takes on more air in the glass. What stands out most in this Brunello is the quality of the bouquet that is rigid and firm, yet not excessively so. You feel the structural texture of the wine as it sits firmly over the palate, yet there is mobility and softness to its many moving parts. I tasted this wine at various intervals over a 24-hour period.

Tenuta Nuova has been produced since 1993. It represents Casanova di Neri's 'newer' vineyard of Le Cetine in the southern reaches of Montalcino which boasts stony galestro soils. This manages the warmth and ripeness of the vintage with tremendous sophistication. Balsamic herbs, Mediterranean shrub, juniper and crushed stone overlay layers of focused, luscious currants and black cherries. A bit of an iron fist in a velvet glove - but much more velvet glove than iron fist. Finishes long and invigoratingly salty.

On another level, the flagship 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova shows the warm, sexy style of this vintage beautifully, boasting a translucent ruby/purple color as well as incredible aromatics of ripe cherries, dried rose petals, new leather, spice, and dried herbs. Beautifully complex aromatically, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness as well as a weightless, elegant texture that carries sweet tannins.

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.

Rich, boasting ripe cherry, plum, incense and wild herb aromas and flavors, this red is expressive and charming. All that up-front appeal is matched by dense yet civilized tannins. Fine balance and a lingering aftertaste of fruit, mineral and savory elements bode well for the future. Best from 2022 through 2040. 5,836 cases made, 1,250 cases imported.

Tenuta Nuova is a pioneering and visionary vineyard project emboding the belief and passion of Casanova di Neri. Tenuta Nuova means new property; Tenuta Nuova is a place where nobody planted Sangiovese before; Tenuta Nuova is the will of Casanova di Neri to produce a powerful yet drinkable Brunello with a high ageing potential. The project began with the study of varied local microclimates and their optimal exposures. Through a cautious and passionate research Casanova di Neri has used the most sophisticated scientific investigations to determine the clones, rootstocks, cultivation practices, plant density per hectare and every possible particular to obtain excellent Sangiovese grapes.