Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova DOCG 2017

When the 2001 Tenuta Nuova was named Wine Spectator Wine of the Year in 2006, it was the first time a single-vineyard Brunello had claimed that title — a moment that forced the global market to reckon with southern Montalcino as a serious terroir address. The Tenuta Nuova / Le Cetine vineyard sits near Castelnuovo dell'Abate in the warmer southern sector of the appellation, where Giacomo Neri planted Sangiovese before any other producer had committed to that zone. The warmer aspect and lower elevation relative to the estate's north-eastern sites drive fuller physiological ripeness, producing a denser, more voluminous fruit profile than the mineral austerity of Cerretalto. Vines are planted with the estate's proprietary Sangiovese Grosso clone, bred from the Cerretalto mother vineyard and propagated across all seven sites — a deliberate genetic coherence that anchors house DNA regardless of terroir. In the cellar, individual berries pass an optical sorter before gravity-fed transfer (no pumps) into open-topped conical vats; spontaneous fermentation proceeds with punch-downs over approximately 23–24 days, followed by ~30 months in tonneaux. What distinguishes Tenuta Nuova within the Casanova di Neri range is its position as the power expression — richer and more immediately generous than the White Label, yet released a full year ahead of Cerretalto. The 2017 vintage in Montalcino was a warm, dry year producing concentrated, structured wines with deep fruit and firm backbone; drinking window broadly estimated 2024–2042.