Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Brunello Di Montalcino Giovanni Neri is the most intense and brooding wine in the range and pours a saturated red hue. The nose is deep and savory, with preserved blackberries, plum, lavender, resinous herbs, dark chocolate, and polished leather. Full-bodied, it has real drive and depth, with ripe tannins, balanced acidity, and a long, structured finish that keeps unfolding with air. It’s a serious, age-worthy Brunello that deserves patience. Drink 2027-2055.
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James Suckling
A muscular single-vineyard Brunello. Intense aromas of dark cherries, spearmint, lilacs and sandalwood. Full-bodied with a tight and compacted palate, chewy tannins and a fresh and tense finish. Needs time to soften and come together. Best after 2028.
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Wine Spectator
Blackberry, cassis and black cherry flavors are the main themes in this muscular red, framed by wild rosemary, juniper and Mediterranean scrub. Thick tannins rule the finish, yet this remains long, ripe and balanced in the end. The intense fruit flavors are the lasting impression. Best from 2029 through 2048.
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Decanter
Dedicated to the estate’s founder, this single-vineyard Brunello is crafted from vines that are over 50 years old in Montalcino’s southeastern area of Sesta. Named after his grandfather, winemaker Giovanni Neri includes 20% whole bunch to enhance freshness and fruit character. It captures the wild Mediterranean essence of myrtle, pine and juniper along with mint tea. Densely packed with dark forest berries, it is equally concentrated in mouthwatering acidity. Compact tannins are tough going for now, though their polish is evident. This makes quite an impression but should give greater pleasure as all its complex components coalesce.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Casanova di Neri 2021 Brunello di Montalcino Giovanni Neri offers a bright, punchy profile with notes of sweet almond, cassis and blue flower. You get what appears to be partial whole-cluster lift. The tannins are well polymerized, though a touch of rigidity remains and will need time to soften. The finish is medium in length and polished. Sourced from the latest parcel (in the Sesti area) added to the estate portfolio, this is intended as a more nuanced and age-worthy interpretation of Sangiovese. The wine matures for 30 months in tonneaux, and production is limited to 8,400 bottles.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.