BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO

Lustrous mid ruby. Brooding, sweet fruit nose with a suggestion of oak but otherwise still a little closed. Concentrated deep sweet-sour cherry palate with fine but firm tannins. Very long and elegant rather than powerful. Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 17 Walter Speller, www.jancisrobinson.com (Feb 2022)

The Casanova di Neri 2017 Brunello di Montalcino delivers unexpected grace and a floral profile that is not common to find in this scorching-hot and dry vintage. In faithful Casanova di Neri fashion, the wine is bold and dark in appearance, and although the bouquet is dominated by purple and black fruits, there is a brief interlude of fresh garden rose or lilac. That little moment changes up the momentum of this wine in a most positive way by allowing for a harmony of low tones and high tones that are well matched here. The wine is robust, structured and velvety to the palate, but ultimately this expression is far more delicate than I would have ever expected for a 2017 Brunello. This is a nice surprise. Drinking range: 2024 - 2038 Rating: 94+ Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate (www.robertparker.com) (Feb 2022)

Dusty florals, musky cherry and raspberry with hints of mentholated herbs waft up from the 2017 Brunello di Montalcino. This is enveloping and soft, with sweet exotic spices and juicy, vibrant acidity giving way to tart wild berries and rosy inner florals. There’s amazing length, hard red candies and violets, and sweet tannin that goes on and on, creating a somewhat chewy yet also fresh expression. The 2017 benefits from all of the fruit that would usually go into the single-vineyard Cerretalto Brunello, though even with it, production is down by 35%. That said, this is stunning juice. Drinking range: 2024 - 2029 Rating: 92 Eric Guido, www.vinous.com (Dec 2021)