Casanova di Neri

Giovanni Neri founded Casanova di Neri in 1971. He bought Podere Casanova, a working farm of around 200 hectares on the eastern side of Montalcino where wine was only a small part of production and what was made was sold in bulk, and renamed it after himself, immediately setting to work restoring existing Sangiovese vines and planting new ones in consultation with leading Tuscan winemakers. The estate's first bottling came in 1977, a wine sold under the old name for Rosso di Montalcino, 'Vino Rosso dai Vigneti di Brunello.' Its first true Brunello di Montalcino followed in 1978, drawn from three vineyards in the northeastern quadrant of Montalcino closest to the winery, and it carried the label that became known as the White Label, or Etichetta Bianca. In 1981 Giovanni Neri acquired the Cerretalto vineyard, a secluded natural amphitheatre along the Asso torrent whose iron- and magnesium-rich soil he recognized as capable of a singular Brunello; because the wine is made only in favorable years, a second vintage did not follow until 1986. Giacomo Neri, Giovanni's son, began working full-time at the winery that same year. Giovanni Neri died in 1991, and Giacomo took over running the winery.

• 1971: Giovanni Neri buys and renames the roughly 200-hectare Podere Casanova
• 1977: first bottling, a Vino Rosso dai Vigneti di Brunello (the old name for Rosso di Montalcino)
• 1978: first Brunello di Montalcino bottling, from three northeastern vineyards, becomes the White Label
• 1981: Cerretalto vineyard acquired; first single-vineyard Cerretalto released in 1987 after six years' ageing
• 1991: Giovanni Neri dies; his son Giacomo Neri takes over the winery

Giacomo Neri has run Casanova di Neri since 1991. According to a JamesSuckling.com profile of the family published in April 2025, he has expanded the estate's vineyards to 63 hectares across the Montalcino region while building a winemaking process that pairs a three-story gravity-fed cellar with traditional practice and modern technology. The estate's third generation followed him into the business: Giovanni, Giacomo's eldest son, joined in 2012 and, with his father, took on responsibility for the estate's agronomic and oenological work; Gianlorenzo joined in 2017, the same year the estate opened its Relais guesthouse, and per JamesSuckling.com now handles sales and marketing while Giovanni focuses on winemaking. The estate celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021. In 2026, Giacomo's youngest daughter Marianna, who had just qualified as a lawyer, joined the winery alongside her brothers. Gianlorenzo told JamesSuckling.com that the family's winemaking philosophy remains their grandfather's: terroir-driven, elegant wine, with each generation contributing its own changes; the third generation says the whole-bunch fermentation used for the Giovanni Neri Brunello, an experiment that had never been tried before at the estate, was their own idea.

• Giacomo Neri: sole owner and head of the winery since 1991; per JamesSuckling.com, expanded the estate to 63 hectares
• Giovanni Neri: joined 2012, focuses on winemaking; introduced whole-bunch fermentation for the Giovanni Neri Brunello
• Gianlorenzo Neri: joined 2017 (the year the Relais opened), handles sales and marketing per JamesSuckling.com
• Marianna Neri: joined the winery in 2026 after qualifying as a lawyer, Giacomo's youngest daughter
• 50th anniversary of the estate celebrated in 2021

Casanova di Neri farms seven named vineyards within the Montalcino appellation: Fiesole, Cerretalto, Collalli, Podernuovo, Pietradonice, Giovanni Neri and Cetine. The estate's Sangiovese clone was developed through selection sourced from the Cerretalto vineyard and is planted, with varying results, across the other sites. Fiesole sits east and northeast of Montalcino at 350 to 380 metres on galestro soil with a southeastern exposition, adjacent to the winery headquarters. Cerretalto lies to the east at 270 to 300 metres, on galestro marl with alluvial stone and rock rich in iron, magnesium and plinthites, a soil the estate calls without equal in Montalcino or Italy. Collalli, added in 2015 as the estate's sixth vineyard, sits east of town at 250 to 320 metres on calcareous clay; a salt-water spring there releases a thin saline film into the soil when it rains. Podernuovo, acquired in 2001, is the estate's highest vineyard at 420 to 490 metres, its galestro soil shared with sweet chestnut trees. Pietradonice, acquired in 1994 in the southern part of Montalcino near the Abbey of Sant'Antimo, sits on galestro marl rich in onyx fragments from its former life as an onyx quarry, and is the estate's Cabernet Sauvignon site. The Giovanni Neri vineyard, south of Montalcino at 320 to 390 metres on galestro marl with clay and tufa, holds some of the estate's most mature vines. Cetine, in the south at 275 to 320 metres, is where Tenuta Nuova's first harvest came from in 1993, the estate's first foothold in the southern part of the DOC zone; its galestro marl and tufa-and-clay soil sit on a hump-backed hill ringed by Mediterranean maquis.

• Cerretalto: east of Montalcino, 270-300m, galestro marl rich in iron, magnesium and plinthites
• Tenuta Nuova's fruit comes from Cetine, south Montalcino, 275-320m; first harvest 1993
• Pietradonice, acquired 1994: southeast Montalcino, 250-300m, onyx-rich galestro marl on a former onyx quarry; the estate's Cabernet Sauvignon site
• Podernuovo, acquired 2001: the estate's highest vineyard at 420-490m; Collalli, added 2015: 250-320m, calcareous clay with a saline spring

Work on Casanova di Neri's current cellar and winery headquarters began in 2003 and the building was inaugurated in time for the 2005 harvest, designed to blend into the hillside it is built on. The cellar faces north and is built almost entirely into the hill for naturally regulated temperature and humidity, spread over several levels to let gravity do the work. Grape bunches are hand-selected and de-stemmed, then each grape passes through an optical sorting machine before gravity alone carries the fruit down to fermentation tanks. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled, open-topped, truncated conical vats of steel and wood, and the wines then age in two barrel rooms. Giovanni Neri, the estate's third-generation winemaker, has described the same setup to JamesSuckling.com as a three-story, all-gravity, no-pump system where barrel-room temperatures never exceed 18 degrees Celsius even in summer. Alongside the four Brunello bottlings, the estate makes a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon (about one hectare, first vintage 2000, planted by Giacomo Neri in the mid-1990s) and a small vermentino-grechetto blend, about a hectare and 3,000 bottles, made for winery visitors and released six months after harvest.

• New cellar built 2003-2005; built into the hillside, gravity-fed across several levels
• Manual grape selection, then optical sorting, then gravity-only transfer to fermentation
• Fermentation in open-topped truncated conical vats of steel and wood; ageing in two barrel rooms
• About one hectare of Cabernet Sauvignon (first vintage 2000) and a small vermentino-grechetto blend made for visitors

The estate produces ten wines from plots across its Montalcino vineyards. White Label Brunello, the estate's original bottling, has been produced continuously since 1978. Tenuta Nuova, first harvested in 1993 from the Cetine vineyard, was conceived, in the estate's own words, as a place where nobody had planted Sangiovese before, aiming for a powerful yet drinkable Brunello with high ageing potential. Cerretalto, first released as a single vineyard wine in 1987 from the 1981 vintage, draws mainly from the Cerretalto amphitheatre beside a private truffle reserve, its aroma marked by graphite notes and sanguine undertones with exceptional length. Brunello Giovanni Neri, first released in 2023, was named for the founder fifty years after his purchase of the first vineyard; it is a pure Sangiovese expression from an ancient vineyard with half-century-old vines, and was the first Casanova di Neri wine fermented on whole bunches. Rosso di Montalcino Giovanni Neri, released from the 2020 vintage, was likewise dedicated to the founder for the estate's 50th anniversary, sourced mainly from a vineyard with forty-five-year-old vines. The standard Rosso di Montalcino spends twelve months in wood. Pietradonice, a Cabernet Sauvignon first made in 2000 and named for the onyx-rich soil of its vineyard, was the estate's first wine not based on Sangiovese. IrROSSO blends Sangiovese with a small addition of the estate's other varieties; IRROSE, a rose, was first made from the 2018 harvest; and IBBIANCO, a white wine from the estate's Spereta farm, was first bottled from the 2011 vintage. In the difficult 2014 vintage, the estate chose not to make Cerretalto or Tenuta Nuova at all, folding those grapes into the White Label Brunello instead.

• White Label Brunello: continuous production since 1978
• Tenuta Nuova: first harvest 1993 from Cetine vineyard; Cerretalto: first single-vineyard release 1987 (1981 vintage)
• Brunello Giovanni Neri: first release 2023, named for the founder, whole-bunch fermented; Rosso Giovanni Neri released from the 2020 vintage
• Pietradonice (Cabernet Sauvignon, first vintage 2000), IrROSSO, IRROSE (rose, first 2018), IBBIANCO (white, first 2011, from Spereta farm)
• 2014: a difficult vintage led the estate to skip Cerretalto and Tenuta Nuova, blending those grapes into the White Label instead

The estate's first major recognition came in 1987, when the 1982 White Label won the Gold Medal at the Challenge International du Vin. In 1994 the 1988 Cerretalto was awarded top Tre Bicchieri status by Gambero Rosso's Vini d'Italia guide, and by 2002 the same publication wrote of the 1997 Tenuta Nuova that Montalcino's elite producers could no longer overlook Giacomo Neri and his winery. The estate's signature honor came in 2006, when Wine Spectator named the 2001 Tenuta Nuova its Wine of the Year, the first Brunello to win and, per the estate's own account, only the third Italian wine to top the ranking since it began in 1988; Wine Spectator's own database confirms the 2001 Tenuta Nuova as its Top 100 Wine No. 1 of 2006, reviewed in the magazine's April 30, 2006 issue. The following year, the 2001 Cerretalto received 100 points from Wine Spectator, the first in a run of perfect scores for the estate that has since included two from James Suckling, two from Robert Parker and one from Wine Enthusiast; Cerretalto's own accolade tally, per the estate, now stands at 100 points from Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, James Suckling, Falstaff, Luca Gardini, International Wine Report and Wine Enthusiast. More recently, James Suckling's Top 100 World Wines of 2023 report named the 2019 Giovanni Neri, a single-vineyard Brunello, a newcomer to its Top 10 list at No. 7, calling it perfect-scoring ahead of its January 2024 market release; a JamesSuckling.com interview with Giovanni and Gianlorenzo Neri in April 2025 confirmed the 100-point score for that wine. WineNews.it's coverage of The World's Best Vineyards 2025 ranking placed Casanova di Neri at No. 87, describing it as one of the Montalcino area's most acclaimed and award-winning wineries.

• 1987: 1982 White Label wins Gold Medal, Challenge International du Vin; 1994: 1988 Cerretalto earns Tre Bicchieri from Gambero Rosso
• 2006: 2001 Tenuta Nuova named Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year, the first Brunello to win (confirmed in Wine Spectator's own database as Top 100 Wine No. 1 of 2006)
• 2007: 2001 Cerretalto receives 100 points from Wine Spectator, first of a run that includes two from James Suckling, two from Robert Parker, one from Wine Enthusiast
• 2023: James Suckling ranks the 2019 Giovanni Neri single-vineyard Brunello No. 7 on its Top 100 World Wines list, calling it perfect-scoring
• 2025: Casanova di Neri ranked No. 87 in WineNews.it's report on The World's Best Vineyards 2025

Long before wine defined the estate, founder Giovanni Neri was a grain merchant, and wheat and spelt cultivation has remained one of Casanova di Neri's important activities. The estate also farms ten hectares of olive groves planted to the Olivastra, Leccino and Correggiolo varieties, producing an extra virgin olive oil, and makes a Grappa di Brunello from its own grape pomace using traditional methods. Hospitality is a growing part of the business: the estate's showroom at the Podere Fiesole farmhouse offers guided tastings, and in 2017 Casanova di Neri opened the Relais, a ten-room restored farmhouse among the vineyards that Gianlorenzo Neri has described as an intimate, luxury, boutique hotel.

• Founder Giovanni Neri was originally a grain merchant; wheat and spelt remain estate crops
• Ten hectares of olive groves (Olivastra, Leccino, Correggiolo) produce extra virgin olive oil
• Grappa di Brunello made from the estate's own pomace
• The Relais, a ten-room farmhouse, opened in 2017 alongside the estate's guided tastings at Podere Fiesole

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.casanovadineri.wine/en, https://www.casanovadineri.wine/en/625/time-line, https://www.casanovadineri.wine/en/636/our-cellar, https://www.casanovadineri.wine/en/637/speciality, https://www.casanovadineri.wine/en/vigneti/our-vineyards, https://www.casanovadineri.wine/en/prodotti/our-wines, https://www.casanovadineri.wine/en/639/wine-experience, https://www.casanovadineri.wine/en/press/press. Secondary sources: Wine Spectator wine detail page for Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova 2001; JamesSuckling.com, 'Top 100 World Wines 2023 and Wine of the Year' (November 12, 2023); WineNews.it, 'The World's Best Vineyards 2025, Italy well represented in top 100' (November 2025); JamesSuckling.com, 'JamesSuckling Interviews: Gianlorenzo and Giovanni Neri' (April 14, 2025). Last verified 2026-09-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs on self-knowledge facts (see conflicts.json for the one logged discrepancy on wine-scoring chronology and one on family description).