Texture and Restraint
2005 Casanova di Neri
Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova
VALUE in the Shadow of the 2006s
"In 2005 the Tenuta Nuova boasts fabulous overall balance in a fairly restrained style for this bottling. Kirsch, roses and spices linger on the dark, enveloping finish. This is a terrific effort from Casanova di Neri." - Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate
There have been a lot of surprises coming out of Brunello lately.
After the whole shake-up and identity crisis of the early 2000s, the region is emerging with a renewed confidence. Sangiovese grosso, the muscular big brother of the Sangiovese grape which gives Brunello its added depth, its added texture, is once again being given the respect it deserves.
This is important - Brunello represents a unique cultural tradition, a confluence of Sangiovese's brightness and aromatics with a more thunderous, bass-tone rumble... a lusciousness that recalls some combination of Bordeaux and Napa Valley.
While we approach this region and its wines carefully, there are without a doubt treasures to be had. Especially as 2006 comes to market, with big expectations and prices, there are some values to cull out of the shadows.
The Casanova di Neri is one of Brunello's flag-ship producers; it's an estate that makes sleek, rich, forward, voluptuous wines. Yet they have energy to them, the fruit is finely wound and a more classical structure that manages both restraint and a certain lusciousness.
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The "Tenuta Nuova" bottling is one the estate's higher end Brunellos. For you Brunello geeks, the fruit for the Tenuta Nuova is sourced from the Le Cetine and Pietradonice vineyards in southern Montalcino. The sites are known for wines like this one, with a tannic structure as well as finesse and a Mediterranean-like briny, brushy quality behind dark wild cherries.
Grapes are crushed and fermented in Casanova di Neri's underground gravity-flow winery, using no pumps and natural temperature control. The wine spends 30 months in oak casks and 18 in the bottle before being released, and while the wine's velvety fruit allows for almost immediate gratification after release (long decant advised), this particular bottling’s structure and balance certainly lend itself to another decade or so of growth with proper cellaring.
As the Casanova di Neri has been a top producer for many years, it's hard to say the estate is on the up and up. At the same time, there is no doubting the fact that the estate seems to have found its voice in this new century - the wines have been showing more grace, more purity, more finesse with each and every passing year.
Galloni writes: “In recent years the wines have become more elegant, with less of the excessive heaviness that characterized prior vintages. " This is a development we like, a lot.
We haven't been able to find much of this wine at this price; so today we have only a few cases to offer. Please give us your maximum order and we'll do our best - all orders subject to confirmation.
Please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463 to place your order.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova
Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate: "The 2005 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova is quite a bit darker and richer than the straight Brunello. Cherries, plums, spices and French oak meld together beautifully in this silky, textured red. In 2005 the Tenuta Nuova boasts fabulous overall balance in a fairly restrained style for this bottling. Kirsch, roses and spices linger on the dark, enveloping finish. This is a terrific effort from Casanova di Neri. The Tenuta Nuova is made from vineyards in Le Cetine and Pietradonice, both located in the southern part of Montalcino."
Wine is pre-arrival
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