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 a small part of production and was sold in bulk, renamed it Casanova di Neri, and set to work restoring the existing Sangiovese vines and planting new ones in consultation with leading Tuscan winemakers. The first bottling came in 1977, a wine sold under the old name for Rosso di Montalcino, 'Vino Rosso dai Vigneti di Brunello.' The first Brunello di Montalcino followed in 1978, drawn from three vineyards in the northeastern quadrant of Montalcino closest to the winery, and 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 microclimate and iron- and magnesium-rich soil he saw as capable of a unique Brunello; the wine is made only in favorable years, and 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. He has expanded the vineyards to 63 hectares across the Montalcino region and built a winemaking process that pairs a three-story gravity-fed cellar with traditional practice and modern technology. The 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; he now focuses on winemaking. Gianlorenzo joined in 2017, the year the estate opened its Relais guesthouse, and handles sales and marketing. The estate celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021. In 2026 Giacomo's youngest daughter Marianna, newly qualified as a lawyer, joined the winery alongside her brothers. Gianlorenzo describes the family philosophy as unchanged from their grandfather's, "offering beautiful, distinctive, terroir-driven wines," with every generation making its own contribution. One such contribution is whole-bunch fermentation for the Giovanni Neri Brunello, an experiment the third generation introduced and something the estate had never done before.

• Giacomo Neri: head of the winery since 1991; expanded the vineyards to 63 hectares
• Giovanni Neri: joined 2012, focuses on winemaking; whole-bunch fermentation for the Giovanni Neri Brunello was the third generation's idea
• Gianlorenzo Neri: joined 2017 (the year the Relais opened), handles sales and marketing
• Marianna Neri: Giacomo's youngest daughter, joined the winery in 2026 after qualifying as a lawyer
• 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 from the Cerretalto vineyard and is planted, with differing results, across the other sites. Fiesole sits east and northeast of Montalcino at 350 to 380 metres on galestro soil with a southeastern exposition, next 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 terroir the estate calls without equal in Montalcino or in all of 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 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 very mature vines. Cetine, in the south at 275 to 320 metres, gave Tenuta Nuova's first harvest in 1993 and was the estate's first foothold in the southern part of the DOC zone; its galestro marl, tufa and clay 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, designed to blend into its hillside, was inaugurated in time for the 2005 harvest. The cellar faces north and is built almost entirely into the hill, which keeps temperature and humidity naturally regulated, and it spreads over several levels so gravity does the work. Grape bunches are hand-selected and de-stemmed, each grape passes through an optical sorting machine, and gravity alone carries the fruit down to the 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. The three-level system runs without pumps, and the cellar never rises above 18 degrees Celsius, even in summer. Alongside the four Brunello bottlings, the estate makes a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon (about one hectare, planted by Giacomo Neri in the mid-1990s, first vintage 2000) 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; in the estate's description its aroma shows 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 from an ancient vineyard with half-century-old vines, and the first Casanova di Neri wine fermented with whole bunches. Rosso di Montalcino Giovanni Neri, released in 2020, was likewise dedicated to the founder for the estate's 50th anniversary and comes 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 from the estate's Spereta farm, was first bottled from the 2011 vintage. In the difficult 2014 vintage, the estate made no Cerretalto or Tenuta Nuova, adding those grapes to 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 in 2020
• 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, adding those grapes to the White Label instead

In 1987 the 1982 White Label won the Gold Medal at the Challenge International du Vin. In 1994 Gambero Rosso's Vini d'Italia guide gave the 1988 Cerretalto its top Tre Bicchieri rating, and in 2002 Gambero Rosso wrote of the 1997 Tenuta Nuova: "The elite group of Montalcino's best producers can no longer fail to include Giacomo Neri and his winery." In 2006 Wine Spectator named the 2001 Tenuta Nuova its Wine of the Year, No. 1 in its Top 100 for 2006, after reviewing it in the April 30, 2006 issue. The estate's timeline records it as the first Brunello to win and only the third Italian wine to top the ranking since it began in 1988. In 2007 Wine Spectator gave the 2001 Cerretalto 100 points, the first in a run of perfect scores that went on to include two from James Suckling (Tenuta Nuova 2006 and Cerretalto 2010), two from Robert Parker (Tenuta Nuova 2010 and Cerretalto 2010) and one from Wine Enthusiast. Cerretalto's 100-point scores now come from Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, James Suckling, Falstaff, Luca Gardini, International Wine Report and Wine Enthusiast. James Suckling's Top 100 World Wines of 2023 placed the 2019 Giovanni Neri, a single-vineyard Brunello, at No. 7 as a perfect-scoring newcomer to its Top 10, ahead of its January 2024 market release. Casanova di Neri ranked No. 87 in The World's Best Vineyards 2025, and WineNews called it 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, No. 1 in its Top 100 for 2006, the first Brunello to win
• 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: the 2019 Giovanni Neri single-vineyard Brunello ranks No. 7 on James Suckling's Top 100 World Wines, with a perfect score
• 2025: Casanova di Neri ranked No. 87 in The World's Best Vineyards 2025

Before wine defined the estate, founder Giovanni Neri was a grain merchant, and wheat and spelt remain important crops at Casanova di Neri. The estate farms ten hectares of olive groves planted to Olivastra, Leccino and Correggiolo, which yield an extra virgin olive oil, and makes a Grappa di Brunello from its own grape pomace by traditional methods. Guided tastings take place in the estate's showroom at the Podere Fiesole farmhouse, and in 2017 Casanova di Neri opened the Relais, a ten-room restored farmhouse among the vineyards that Gianlorenzo Neri calls "a very 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 2026-10-12. 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).