Casanova di Neri

We were amazed when we discovered that the letters of CASANOVA DI NERI, the name Giovanni Neri gave the company in 1971, could be rearranged to form a number of Italian sentences that embody some of our deepest held beliefs about wine and winemaking. Could these be ‘messages in a bottle’, sent by our nonno to guide us even when he was no longer around? We’ll never know, but it’s a nice thought! Here, then, is our winemaking credo, summed up in seven anagrams.

“Wine, a healthy root”

We believe that wine is good for body and soul. We believe that great wine is made from healthy vines planted in vineyards whose soil, aspect and climate combine to bring out the best in them, tended by men and women whose duty it is to help the grapes achieve perfection in the most natural, non-invasive way possible.

“Innovation is at home here”

We believe that wines of character are made from grape varieties that have an elective affinity with certain territories, and that the greatest respect is due to the traditional winemaking techniques developed over time within those territories. But we also believe that winemakers have a duty to ceaselessly improve and refine their methods in the pursuit of excellence and territorial integrity. At Casanova di Neri, we are not afraid to innovate in an informed and sensitive way in order to be true to our grapes, our vineyards, and Montalcino. We believe that when innovation is recognised to have raised the quality level of a wine or any other product, it becomes the new tradition.

“Thou shalt go to Onyx!”

We believe in vineyards.  We like to think of this phrase as a prophecy of nonno Giovanni, who somehow foresaw our acquisition of a vineyard called Pietradonice, literally ‘Onyxstone’, located inside a former quarry near the village and abbey of Sant’Antimo. Like our other vineyards, Pietradonice encapsulates a belief that marks us out from many other producers in the area: that wines made from single vineyards or by making a selection of the best grapes from a limited number of vineyards are the best way to translate the spirit of a place into the glass.

“A shared arena”

We believe in teamwork. All those who work in the vineyards, in the cellar, in our offices or in the Relais are part of an extended family that shares our core values of respect for others and a deep-rooted connection with this magical corner of Tuscany. Touched and honoured by the support given to us by many of those who have discovered our wines all over the world, we believe in community, in friendship, in conviviality.

“From ancestors, gold is struck”

We believe that success is all about playing the long game. The company founder, Giovanni Neri, was a visionary who understood, well before it became a dogma, that planting the right grapes in the right vineyards was the key to creating great Brunellos. We have continued his legacy, fully aware that the decisions we make today will have an impact on our grandchildren and their grandchildren.

“Wherever it goes, it stands tall”

We believe that quality is important, but so too us is the recognisability of a wine. We pride ourselves on making wines that stand out from the crowd and lift up their heads among thousands of others.

“Playing the music of Da Vinci”

We believe in making wines that incarnate the idea of beauty, wines marked in every element by their purity and harmony, from their tannins to their colour and aroma. Our wines aim for the perfect proportions but also the tension of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, in which beauty is not a state of repose but one of pent-up energy, a state that represents a continual striving for the infinite.