TN: 2006 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova

WINE TALK
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  • 2006 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino (3/6/2013)
    The overall impression is similar to the previous bottles although this bottle seems more mineral. Red fruits, cherry, iron, limestone, vanilla, salt, raw mushroom, coffee and earth. Silky palate, generous fruits, good acidity and noticeable but not obtrusive sweet tannins. Since release, this wine has been drinking nicely. Although the fruit expression is red and towards to cherry, there are a lot of secondary notes and the fruit plays the background role. Some may be bothered by a hint of alcohol note at the end. (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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STILL waiting on these from PC…3yrs now! [swearing.gif]

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Kevin,

Thanks for the note. Still have some 1997’s rolling around somewhere in storage; early samplings were pleasant enough but I haven’t tried any bottles recently. Sounds like more research is in order, and 2006 sounds like an excellent vintage.

Cheers,
Doug

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Here is my note from Nov. 15, 2012:
“absolutely underwhelming…100pts my arse
this was very modern and showing limited integration or sense of place. i don’t know what to say…just not anywhere near the wine I expected” 89pts

I think this is a house that really went down hill after Brunello gate…
Some of the 1999s and 2001s that I had were absolutely majestic…I think the cab/merlot helped them given their lack of relative terroir in Brunello.
I had 6 bottles of the 2004 Tenuta Nuova and was shocked…no where near the wine it used to be.
A MAJOR pass now, will never purchase from these guys again.

Full disclosure…I am now a fan of traditional brunello and think Barrique and international varietals have no place in brunello…

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I don’t recall Casanova di Neri being implicated in the Brunellogate scandal.

Certainly, the Tenuta Nuova is aged in barriques and considered a “modern” style (though their regular Brunello is aged in casks – like some Brunello producers, they use different approaches for different wines in their lineup), and that’s obviously not your cup of tea, but I don’t think there was ever an issue of cab and merlot inclusion on their wines.

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With some quick research, there was an inquiry into their wines, but they were exonerated.

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They might have been exonerated…but after reading O’Keefe’s book, I am very skeptical…
Plus, I don’t know how to resolve the immense difference in quality from the 1997, 1999, and 2001 Tenuta Nuova’s and cerretaltos and the ones from 2004 and 2006. i drank them all at similar ages so that can’t be the issue…I think there is some thing to the idea that they were blending in international varietals. They are not in great terroir in Brunello either to boot.

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I don’t feel like the 06 represents BdM at all and I made a very wise trade to get rid of my bottles.

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Bob once had to point out to a few who criticized some top cuvees CDPs for showing too much oak that they were made in concrete vats. According to Antonio, the wine was racked into 600-liter barrels for 36 months. I have drunk four bottles and have never bothered by strong oak presence. It is also important to note that oak will integrate with time, e.g. 95 and 96 D Laurent Burgundy.

In terms of adding international varietals, this is an interesting topic. Based on my experience, even adding a small amount of Touriga Nacional will dominate the overall expression of Portuguese table wines. Chateau Palmer’s XIX Century blend carries 15% syrah but the syrah note clearly comes through. I am not so sure how small % of Merlot will express in Sangiovese dominated wines but there was nothing out of norm.

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Went to a dinner last summer where we had the 97 and I think the 00 and 04. The difference in the wines was palpable to all and the summary opinion was not one of improvement.