Casanova di Neri : Cerretalto 2016

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.

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.

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.

Clear ruby with a fine garnet rim. Multi-layered nose with notes of dark cherries, blackberries, and rosewood, backed by slightly earthy tones, clear and memorable. Lots of plump fruit on the attack, juicy dark cherry and plum, then it opens up with finely meshed tannins in many layers, very good tension and length, elegant and precise, long finish.

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino has compelling aromatics of cherry liqueur, sweet licorice, cedar, and forested earth. The palate is crystalline and full-bodied, with red plum skin and warming spice. There is a lot to love here, as this wine casts a large net for its versatility. Enjoy some now and lay some down; this is a great value. Drink 2021–2026.