Casanova di Neri Cerretalto Brunello di Montalcino Reviews
Learn More About Casanova di Neri Cerretalto Brunello di Montalcino Through it’s Reviews.
2016 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto Reviews
100 Pointz James Suckling
“This has incredible energy and depth, with a tight, firm, and powerful tannin frame that is present throughout. Full-bodied with a deep core of dark fruit, slate, minerals, and iron. Oyster shells, porcini, licorice, and some cedar, too. More closed than the 2015. Great wine. Try this after a couple of years. It will last for decades.”
98 Pointz Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
“Here's an important keepsake from a classic vintage. The 2016 Casanova di Neri Cerretalto 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.”
98 Pointz Wine Spectator
“A dense, racy, and expressive red, offering black cherry, black currant, violet, iron, and a hint of rosemary aromas and flavors. This is driven by vivid acidity and refined tannins, which lend both finesse and length. Features great harmony and elegance. Best from 2025.”
97 Pointz Vinous
“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 Casanova di Neri Cerretalto Brunello di Montalcino. 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!”
Bonus Reviews
United Kingdom
98 Pointz Decanter
“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. Drinking Window 2025 - 2045.”
2015 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto Reviews
100 Pointz James Suckling
“This is a momentous wine with incredible power and structure that has so much minerality and crushed-stone character to the black cherries and blueberries. Full-bodied and tannic, yet the tannins are layered and polished with a glorious, creamy, and juicy texture that coats your mouth. It goes on for minutes. Incredible wine.”
98 Pointz Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
“Of these new releases from this benchmark estate, the 2015 Casanova di Neri Cerretalto Brunello di Montalcino is my favorite wine. This Riserva is larger than life with ripe fruit, raspberry, cherry, spice, cola, root beer, mesquite, and cedar. The wine offers a flashy and generous quality of fruit that unfolds over time with a multifaceted and multi-layered presentation. One thing that stands out here is the acidity that is bracing and tart at first but then succumbs to an important supporting role, rendering lasting freshness and persistence to the finish. With time, you get a flash of cherry and crème de cassis that seals the deal.”
97 Pointz Wine Spectator
“Wild rosemary, thyme, and juniper aromas and flavors frame the core of black cherry in this supple red. Firmly built, shows refined tannins embraced by the bright fruit. Very expressive and approachable now, yet should continue to improve.”
95 Pointz Vinous
“The 2015 Casanova di Neri Cerretalto Brunello di Montalcino is remarkably fresh and balanced despite its large-scale persona. Minty herbs give way to raspberry and cherry with exotic spices and a hint of pine resin. It boasts depths of silky textures; yet it remains juicy and full of energy, displaying ripe red and black fruits, laced with salty minerals, as hints of cinnamon and baker’s chocolate form toward the close. Fine tannins come forward on the finish, tugging at the cheeks, yet all under an air of sweet spice and violet florals.”
Bonus Review
United Kingdom
97 Pointz Decanter
"First vinified as a single vineyard in 1981, and bottled as a Riserva until 1993, Cerretalto comes from an iron-rich marly site in the far east of Montalcino. Slow ripening, it is always the last plot to be harvested. While demonstrating some of its typical youthful austerity, the 2015 has a bit more flesh and baby fat than usual but it is still recognisably Cerretalto, with its mineral-driven, powerfully structured palate. Aromas are redolent of vanilla, balsam, smoke, and dark chocolate, while the palate offers blackberry and black currants. Lively acidity pierces the fruit intensity.”
2014 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto Reviews
No Wine Produced
2013 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto Reviews
98 Pointz Wine Spectator
“This intense version is concentrated, with black cherry, blackberry, graphite, tobacco, and spice flavors, yet remains light-footed due to the racy profile. Structured, yet beautifully balanced and youthful. Shows purity and length on the aftertaste, which introduces a floral component. Best from 2022 through 2045. 814 cases made, 150 cases imported.”
97 Pointz James Suckling
“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. Try this from 2022.”
97 Pointz Wine Advocate
“There are a handful of wines in Italy that make me nervous before I taste them because my expectations are so high. This is one of those wines. Indeed, previous editions of Cerretalto have earned the coveted 100 point score, and I am astutely aware of the pedigree and potential that comes forth with each new vintage. As enthusiastic as my assessment of the 2013 Casanova di Neri Cerretalto Brunello di Montalcino is, I'm stopping short of that perfect score. This vintage is something of a moving target with wines that are beautiful, without a doubt, yet the growing conditions were not even across the appellation, and achieving optimal tannic management posed a challenge to many producers. If I were to make any criticism of this wine, it would fall along those lines. That aside, this is a beautiful Brunello that boasts deep intensity and bold black fruit flavors that are plummy and rich. Spice, toasted oak, and tobacco frame that primary fruit. Cerretalto ages in oak for 30 months and that strong imprint has added to the structure, depth, and contemporary character of this A-list Brunello. That oak imprint is also reinforced in the wine's tannins. There's no doubt that this wine needs more cellar aging. I would absolutely not suggest drinking it within the next five years. Any awkwardness it shows now should iron itself out with more bottle time. Only 9,771 bottles were made.”
95 Pointz Vinous
“Deep luminous ruby-red. Spicy red cherry and mineral nuances on the nose and in the mouth. Enters fresh and juicy with noteworthy flesh and size to the red and blue fruit flavors, then suave and refined all the way onto the long refined finish. Closes with youthfully chewy tannins and a tactile mouthfeel offering hints of flinty minerals and raspberry. A brooding giant that is extremely elegant and refined. Very well done.”
Bonus Reviews
United Kingdom
96 Pointz Decanter
“Cerretalto is a 4ha vineyard on red sandy clay at the very eastern edge of Montalcino. It's a cool site that's very slow and late ripening, with significant temperature differences between day and night. In 2013 the grapes were harvested during the second week of October, and though not designated as a Riserva, it's aged like one. It's a wine that takes time to come around, and the 2013 is characteristically closed, rigid, and austere in its youth. It hints at dusty black cherry and wild plums wrapped up in a graphite and iron fist. Bracing acidity cuts through the intense, concentrated core. The oak is polished but needs to integrate, while stiff, sticky tannins demand a few years to soften. This is all about patience.”
2012 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto Reviews
98 Pointz Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto offers a prolonged, flowing, and carefully massaged drinking experience that drapes over the senses with some studied intensity and lots of intriguing complexity. This wine nails that perfect balance between power and elegance (that elusive exchange that so many winemakers hope to achieve) with effortless precision. Bold cherry fruit and spice are tightly woven together. In the mouth, the wine shows texture, depth, and succulence. Generally speaking, this is not my favorite vintage in Montalcino, but this wine suddenly made me forget that thought.”
98 Pointz Wine Spectator “Collectibles”
“Flavors of medicinal herbs, juniper, macerated cherry, plum, tobacco, and spice are the hallmarks of this intense red, which is ripe and concentrated, yet sleek and focused. Spice notes chime in on the long, minerally, and firmly tannic finish. Best from 2023 through 2040. 831 cases made.”
97 Pointz James Suckling
“The density is so impressive in this great single-vineyard wine of Casanova. It's full yet agile at the same time. Shows such integrated tannins and fresh acidity at the finish. Energized and focused. Tangy and citrusy. Mineral undertone. One of the great Brunellos of 2012. Better in 2022.”
94 Pointz Vinous
“Vivid red with a pale rim. Tight, pure aromas of black fruits, potpourri, black pepper, roast coffee, and graphite. Dense, tactile, and rich, conveying a multilayered texture and very good lift to the super-ripe, super-concentrated blackberry and red cherry fruit. Impeccably balanced, this rather plush wine is most impressive today on the very long, suavely tannic finish that features repeating herbal notes. I have never been a fan of the Cerretalto, and have truly disliked even some famous vintages of this wine scored very highly by other wine critics, but it’s hard to argue with the 2013 Cerretalto, another outstanding Brunello released by owner Giacomo Neri this year.”
Bonus Reviews
United Kingdom
94 Pointz Decanter
“Boasting galestro soil rich in iron and magnesium, the 4ha Cerretalto vineyard is a massal selection with vines producing small, loose bunches. Some of the plantings date back to 1960. Although not classified as a Riserva, this is aged for an additional year, and is therefore the same vintage release as for the Brunello Riservas. Aged in barriques, of which a small percentage is new, it is a seriously structured wine, and while not friendly at the moment, layers of concentrated dark fruit lie in wait once the oak and tannins have integrated. Finishes with intense graphite and irony notes.”
2011 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto Reviews
No Wine Produced
2010 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto Reviews
100 Pointz James Suckling
“This is very tannic and powerful with loads of currants, spices, and hints of wood. So much stone and mineral character to this. Violets, too. Full-bodied, tight, and structured. Massively dense yet agile and bright. It goes on for minutes. Needs at least three or four years to soften.
100 Pointz Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Here is a stunning wine that exudes excellence in primary material and winemaking craft. Man and nature come together with perfect precision and harmony in the 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto. The balance is exquisite. Bold cherry and blackberry notes are followed by crushed mineral, licorice, smoke, and lightly fragrant cedar. The wine also shows convincing power and volume. It spreads evenly over the palate, and its flavor intensity can be counted over many long minutes. Cerretalto is beautifully concentrated and rich, but it is never too heavy or dense. This is an Italian icon that is still drinking young now, but it has an exciting world of possibility ahead. I think we'd all like to come along for the ride.”
95 Pointz Wine Spectator
“Effusive and fresh, this red shows black currant, cherry, strawberry, cedar, and leather aromas and flavors. Rich and concentrated, turning more elegant with air. The oak becomes more integrated after a few hours and the long finish picks up elements of mineral and tobacco.”