Last night, GVWM enjoyed an intimate dinner with Giacomo di Neri at
Zafferano Restaurant in London. We tasted a fantastic selection of his
wines and we had the honour of being the first people outside of Italy to
taste his spectacular new wine, the 2018 Giovanni Neri Rosso di Montalcino.
The other stand out wines from the evening were his 2014 Brunello, 2013 Brunello Cerretalto and last but not least, his stratospheric 2015 Brunello 'Tenuta Nuova'! The wines were so impressive and stylistically so different, at times it was hard to believe each wine was made from 100% Sangiovese! Giacomo gave us a fascinating insight on the history of the estate and the unique terroir that he has at his disposal. The evening will live long in the memory!
The other stand out wines from the evening were his 2014 Brunello, 2013 Brunello Cerretalto and last but not least, his stratospheric 2015 Brunello 'Tenuta Nuova'! The wines were so impressive and stylistically so different, at times it was hard to believe each wine was made from 100% Sangiovese! Giacomo gave us a fascinating insight on the history of the estate and the unique terroir that he has at his disposal. The evening will live long in the memory!
Giacomo has kindly let us have access to these quite brilliant wines,
including some very rare large formats.
Wines include:
2014 Brunello di Montalcino, Casanova di Neri
Bright deep red. Perfumed nose of red cherry, Oriental spices, flint and graphite. Rich, dense and suave on entry, then lighter and more linear in the middle, but with a plush juicy mouthfeel that makes it hard to put the glass back down once you’ve started tasting it. Very pure black/red cherry and spice flavors linger impressively on the long, refreshing finish. A knockout 2014 Brunello that lacks the size of the bigger vintages (very appropriately, I may add, given what the 2014 growing season was like) but showcases enchanting purity and grace. Very well done. Drink 2021-2028.
93pt, Ian D’Agata, Antonio Galloni’s Vinous Media, 27th March 2019
Bright deep red. Perfumed nose of red cherry, Oriental spices, flint and graphite. Rich, dense and suave on entry, then lighter and more linear in the middle, but with a plush juicy mouthfeel that makes it hard to put the glass back down once you’ve started tasting it. Very pure black/red cherry and spice flavors linger impressively on the long, refreshing finish. A knockout 2014 Brunello that lacks the size of the bigger vintages (very appropriately, I may add, given what the 2014 growing season was like) but showcases enchanting purity and grace. Very well done. Drink 2021-2028.
93pt, Ian D’Agata, Antonio Galloni’s Vinous Media, 27th March 2019
2013 BDM Casanova di Neri, Cerretalto
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 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto 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. Drink 2023-2040.
97pt, Monica Larner, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
2015 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova, Casanova di Neri
The purity of fruit in this wine really strikes you with black cherries, combined with sage, lavender and rosemary. Extremely aromatic. Full-bodied, yet so tight and polished with incredible tannin structure that gives the wine an endless mouth feel of caressing tannins, acidity and fruit. There’s a fabulous saltiness and oyster-shell undertone to the fruit. Unique. Drinkable already, but this year there’s the structure to last decades.
99pt, James Suckling
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 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto 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. Drink 2023-2040.
97pt, Monica Larner, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
2015 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova, Casanova di Neri
The purity of fruit in this wine really strikes you with black cherries, combined with sage, lavender and rosemary. Extremely aromatic. Full-bodied, yet so tight and polished with incredible tannin structure that gives the wine an endless mouth feel of caressing tannins, acidity and fruit. There’s a fabulous saltiness and oyster-shell undertone to the fruit. Unique. Drinkable already, but this year there’s the structure to last decades.
99pt, James Suckling
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