Monday Newsletter 12-27-21

Casanova di Neri is one of Italy’s truly elite modern producers—an icon of Brunello. Their Tenuta Nuova and Cerretalto are profound, highly-sought after wines. The Cerretalto is an event of a wine.  Produced only in the best years, with extra aging before release, it’s one of the true landmark wines of Italy. The 2015 Cerretalto comes from a “fairy tale” vintage, in the words of James Suckling—a year that’s seen more rabid demand than any in recent memory. 

In Stock Now from Casanova di Neri:

A relatively warm vintage, 2012 produced generous and structured Brunello that retained a surprising amount of freshness.
Casanova di Neri Cerretalto, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2012 750ML ($419.95) $379 special, 12 bottles in stock now
Wine Spectator 98 points “Flavors of medicinal herbs, juniper, macerated cherry, plum, tobacco and spice are the hallmarks of this intense red, which is ripe and concentrated, yet sleek and focused. Spice notes chime in on the long, minerally and firmly tannic finish. Best from 2023 through 2040.”
Wine Advocate 98 points “The 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto offers a prolonged, flowing and carefully massaged drinking experience that drapes over the senses with some studied intensity and lots of intriguing complexity. This wine nails that perfect balance between power and elegance (that elusive exchange that so many winemakers hope to achieve) with effortless precision. Bold cherry fruit and spice are tightly woven together. In the mouth, the wine shows texture, depth and succulence. Generally speaking, this is not my favorite vintage in Montalcino, but this wine suddenly made me forget that thought.”
James Suckling 97 points “The density is so impressive in this great single-vineyard wine of Casanova. It’s full yet agile at the same time. Shows such integrated tannins and fresh acidity at the finish. Energized and focused. Tangy and citrusy. Mineral undertone. One of the great Brunellos of 2012. Better in 2022.”

Casanova di Neri Cerretalto, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2013 750ML ($359.95) $289 special, 7 bottles in stock now
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 97 points “There are a handful of wines in Italy that make me nervous before I taste them because my expectations are so high. This is one of those wines. Indeed, previous editions of Cerretalto have earned the coveted 100 point score, and I am astutely aware of the pedigree and potential that comes forth with each new vintage. As enthusiastic as my assessment of the 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto is, I’m stopping short of that perfect score. This vintage is something of a moving target with wines that are beautiful, without a doubt, yet the growing conditions were not even across the appellation, and achieving optimal tannic management posed a challenge to many producers. If I were to make any criticism of this wine, it would fall along those lines. That aside, this is a beautiful Brunello that boasts deep intensity and bold black fruit flavors that are plummy and rich. Spice, toasted oak and tobacco frame that primary fruit. Cerretalto ages in oak for 30 months and that strong imprint has added to the structure, depth and contemporary character of this A-list Brunello. That oak imprint is also reinforced in the wine’s tannins. There’s no doubt that this wine needs more cellar aging. I would absolutely not suggest drinking it within the next five years. Any awkwardness it shows now should iron itself out with more bottle time. Only 9,771 bottles were made.”

Casanova di Neri Cerretalto, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2015 750ML ($399.95) $319 special, 6 bottles in stock now
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 98+ points “Of these new releases from this benchmark estate, the Casanova di Neri 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto is my favorite wine. This Riserva is larger than life with ripe fruit, raspberry, cherry, spice, cola, root beer, mesquite and cedar. The wine offers a flashy and generous quality of fruit that unfolds over time with a multifaceted and multi-layered presentation. One thing that stands out here is the acidity that is bracing and tart at first but then succumbs to an important supporting role, rendering lasting freshness and persistence to the finish. With time, you get a flash of cherry and crème de cassis that seals the deal.”
Eric Guido-Vinous 95 points “The 2015 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto is remarkably fresh and balanced despite its large-scale persona. Minty herbs give way to raspberry and cherry with exotic spices and a hint of pine resin. It boasts depths of silky textures; yet it remains juicy and full of energy, displaying ripe red and black fruits, laced with salty minerals, as hints of cinnamon and baker’s chocolate form toward the close. Fine tannins come forward on the finish, tugging at the cheeks, yet all under an air of sweet spice and violet florals. As young as this is today, it’s hard to put the glass down, and I can only imagine the depths that will be revealed with five or more years of cellaring.”

Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2015 750ML ($149.95) $119 special, 16 bottles in stock now
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 98+ points “Giacomo Neri and his family have crafted a wine that impresses from the first sip forward (especially when the wine is given ample time to open). The Casanova di Neri 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova must be treated with patience, and that patience is returned with many great rewards. Blackberry, plum and summer cherry are slowly folded into lasting flavors of spice, leather and beautiful balsam or medical herb. These are always a distinctive signature of this estate. The aromas flow with seamless transitions, and that fluid and ever-changing nature of the bouquet is what helps to build intensity and staying power. Fruit is harvested from a south- and southeast-facing slope at 250 to 300 meters above sea level. The soils are mixed loosely with crushed rock, allowing access to air and moisture. Indeed, pretty mineral accents appear as the wine takes on more air in the glass. What stands out most in this Brunello is the quality of the bouquet that is rigid and firm, yet not excessively so. You feel the structural texture of the wine as it sits firmly over the palate, yet there is mobility and softness to its many moving parts. I tasted this wine at various intervals over a 24-hour period. Tenuta Nuova was bottled in June 2018, and some 70,032 bottles were released.”
Ian D’Agata-Vinous 96 points “Bright full red. Redcurrant, red cherry, violet, sweet spices, and orange zest on the scented nose. Not in the quite sweet and fleshy style this bottling is famous for, but suave and very well delineated, with the orange peel note providing inner-palate lift. Closes very clean with excellent length.”
Eric Guido – Vinous 96 points “The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova was quite restrained at first, requiring time in the glass to fully blossom, as subtle red berry fruits slowly gain volume and are then complemented by sweet red florals with hints of exotic spice, peppery herbs, and dusty minerals. On the palate, silky textures flood the senses with rich red berry fruits and sweet herbal tones, leaving hints of savory spice and minerals in their wake. The finish is long and unexpectedly fresh, showing the first hints of round tannins under a top note of sweet cherry, plum and a hint of black tea. There is so much going on here, yet it is all densely wrapped up in its youthful state.”

Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2016 750ML ($149.95) $119 special, 7 bottles in stock now
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 97+ points “This is one of my sweetheart wines from Montalcino. The Casanova di Neri 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova offers a long list of aromas on an ever-shifting and fluid bouquet. You get bright cherry, rose potpourri, black truffle, caramel, butterscotch, sandalwood, road pavement and chalky mineral. In fact, each time I come back to this wine, that mineral element seemed to grow in intensity and scope. The wine offers a grounded fruit side that is contrasted nicely against a grounded oak component. The mouthfeel is creamy and long, and the wine shows terrific tannic integration. When you come back hours later, you might find black olive, bresaola and licorice.”
Eric Guido-Vinous 96 points “The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova drawing you in with a display of exotic brown spice, mint and cedar dust. Further coaxing unlocks depths of cherry, plum, hints of dark chocolate and roses. It coasts along a medium-bodied frame with velvety richness, complemented by polished red and black fruits while contrasted by brisk acids and hints of sour citrus. This coats the teeth in concentration, as if you can feel the pulp, seeds and skins of its fruit, while a layer of fine tannin slowly grounds you back to earth. The Tenuta Nuova already has so much to give, yet it will be many years before it reaches its apex. Wow. Thinking back to my tasting of the 2015, I can’t say that the 2016 is necessarily a better wine, just a little less immediate. Either way, both wines are beautiful expressions of vintage.”
Jeb Dunnuck 96 points “The 2016 Tenuta Nuova has layered aromatics of black raspberry, menthol, baking spice and cedar. The palate is intensified and has another gear, with mouth-filling cherry fruit, tobacco, and a balanced but powerful structure. Enjoy a couple of the 2016 Brunello while you wait for this one in the cellar for 3-5 years and drink 2025-2041.”

Casanova di Neri ‘Giovanni Neri’ Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany 2019 750ML ($59.95) $49 special, 34 bottles in stock now
Winery Note “Giovanni Neri is the new wine of Casanova di Neri, dedicated to the founder in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the estate. A unique wine that respects the philosophy and the style of Casanova di Neri, that are still the same as fifty years ago. Giovanni neri is the expression of a Sangiovese that comes from a vineyard that has a wonderful exposition, exceptional soil and vines forty five years old.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $63

A wholly unique house in that they produce a single wine and only during the most exceptional growing years. Sourced from 20 parcels in the center of Le Mensil-Sur-Oger with their first vintage in 1905, this is one of the rarest wines in the entire world and the apex of Chardonnay, with razor sharp austerity requiring extensive bottle age before enjoyment. 

Chez Salon, each vintage is attributed with its own personality and showing. The house describes the vintages in this collection as “Luminosity in 2007, Romance in 2006 and Serenity in 2004”. All of the bottles on offer were disgorged in 2019, a tribute to what extended aging can do.

Arriving Tuesday, December 28th:

Salon Cuvee ‘S’ Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut, Champagne 2004 750ML ($999.95) $899 pre-arrival special, only 3 bottles available
Wine Enthusiast 98 points “Top 100 Cellar Selection in 2016. Salon’s releases are rare and signify a great vintage—the last release was the 2002. Coming from grand cru vineyards in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, this 2004 is complex and concentrated, capturing the essence of Chardonnay in Champagne. Intense minerality and ripe apple and citrus fruits accompany the purity and crisp texture that are part of its ability to age. The wine can continue for many years, certainly to 2025 and beyond. -Roger Voss”
Antonio Galloni 97 points “The 2004 Salon (Edition 2019) is fabulous. That is hardly a surprise, as the 2004 has always been magnificent. Subtle, nuanced and classy to the core, the 2004 shows the more refined side of Salon. In that sense, it shares a good bit stylistically with both the 2007 and 2008, but much less so than with the 2006. Sweet floral notes add lift to a core of crystalline, mineral-infused Chardonnay fruit in a Salon that is precise, light on its feet and buffered by enough energy to drink well for decades to come. Disgorged: January, 2019.”
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 96 points “The 2004 Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut is another rather structured, tensile wine from a generally rather open vintage. Wafting from the glass are scents of citrus rind, crisp green apple, preserved citrus, fresh bread and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, tangy and chiseled, with fine depth at the core and a long, chalky finish, it’s complemented by a pillowy pinpoint mousse. Unlike many wines from 2004, this Salon (tasted from a bottle disgorged in January 2019) still has potential to improve with further bottle age.”
Decanter 95 points “Almost deceptively silky and soft for Salon. One expects this blanc de blancs, fermented in tank without malolactic conversion, to show slightly livelier acidity. Here the wine is deliciously drinkable – almost too much so – with ripe apple, citrus and floral notes and a supple, approachable texture that is somewhat lacking in tension, consistent with the conditions of the year: a big crop, swollen slightly with summer rains that needed until the final week of September to ripen fully.”

Salon Cuvee ‘S’ Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut, Champagne 2006 750ML ($999.95) $899 pre-arrival special, only 3 bottles available
Wine Enthusiast 100 points “#11 Cellar Selection in 2017. This new release from a great vintage for Chardonnay in Champagne is a perfect blanc de blancs, showing a wealth of intensity from the crisp, chalky, mineral tones to the perfumed apple notes. The aromas hint at developing toastiness that adds depth and complexity. The wine is still young and it will age for years. Drink from 2020. -Roger Voss”
Antonio Galloni 97 points “The 2006 Salon is a very rich wine, almost uncharacteristically so. Deep and exotic the 2006 exudes richness in all of its dimensions, with myriad inflections of sumptuous fruit that fill out its ample, large-scaled frame. Today, the 2006 is surprisingly accessible for a young Salon, but it needs time to shed some baby fat. At times, the 2006 recalls the 2002, but it appears to have more phenolic intensity and overall structure. Even with all of its flamboyance and pure volume, the 2006 retains quite a bit of energy and freshness. I imagine it will be a fascinating, utterly compelling Champagne to follow over the next several decades.”
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 95 points “The 2006 Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut is quite tangy and reserved by the standards of this sunny, demonstrative vintage. Offering up aromas of smoke, toasted bread, orange oil, mocha and confit lemon, it’s medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with racy acids and a concentrated, surprisingly structured mid-palate. Concluding with a long and gently empyreumatic finish, this is a fine success. This bottle was disgorged in January 2019.”
Wine Spectator 95 points “The creamy mousse of this graceful Champagne caresses the palate like cashmere, carrying a beautiful range of glazed nectarine, chopped almond, pastry and candied ginger flavors framed by vivid acidity. Seamless, with a long, lasting finish accented by minerally chalk and saline notes. Drink now through 2031.  –AN”

Salon Cuvee ‘S’ Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut, Champagne 2007 750ML ($999.95) $899 pre-arrival special, only 4 bottles available
Wine Enthusiast 99 points “This legendary Champagne, only produced in exceptional years, comes from the village of Le Mesnil in the Côte des Blancs. It is made from 100% Chardonnay and aged for many years before release. Its minerality, concentration and beautiful fruit are still astonishingly young and deserve further aging. Drink from 2020.”
Wine & Spirits 97 points “This latest release of Salon announces itself with energy and leaves with freshness. It comes from a vintage marked by a cool, cloudy August that delayed ripening; after the vines recovered in September, they yielded this delicate chardonnay, completely saturated with flavor. It comes from 20 parcels in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, a selection established by the founder, Aimé Salon, in the early 1900s, including one estate parcel of 2.5 acres. Other than exclaiming on the wine’s delicious flavors, our panel was seduced by its texture, describing it in variations of silk, satin or chalk and velvet whiteness. It has a presence—a remarkable infusion of chalk soil—that sets it apart.”
Antonio Galloni 96 points “The 2007 Salon is gorgeous. Weightless, delicate and understated, the 2007 is all class. Today, the 2007 reminds me of the 2004 in its bright, citrus and floral-infused profile, but with a bit more creaminess, mid-palate depth and softer contours, all of which will make the 2007 easy to drink with minimal cellaring. Next to the 2006, the 2007 is quite a bit fresher and more delineated, with none of exuberance, power of tropically-leaning overtones found in its younger sibling. At this stage, the 2007 is a bit inward and closed in on itself. Then again, it is Salon. This is another terrific showing from Salon and the team headed by President Didier Depond. Dosage is 5 grams per liter.”
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 96 points “…the weightless and delicate 2007 is a coolish, elegant and smoky gentleman dressed in a white tie and silk hat… The performance on the palate is pure yet concentrated, fresh and linear, very elegant and perfectly balanced, but most of all, it is extremely fine and stimulating!…The radiant 2007 Salon is one of the greatest champagnes I have had from this vintage…”

We stock an incredible array of cult Champagnes including Chartogne-Taillet, Bereche et Fils, Pierre Peters and more!