Casanova di Neri Cerretalto is a single-vineyard Brunello di Montalcino, representing the pinnacle of Neri's production from some of the winery's best vines. Cerretalto is an old vineyard in a natural amphitheater over the Asso River east of Montalcino, and its wines are among the best the Brunello di Montalcino denomination has to offer.

Here's an important keepsake from a classic vintage. The Casanova di Neri 2016 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. Best after 2025. - 98 - Monica Larner - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate