Casanuova Delle Cerbaie Brunello Di Montalcino Sangiovese 2012

Ray Welland, the lucky new owner of this prime Tuscan winery, is well-known in the wine community. This US financier and competitive master bridge player placed part of his 100,000-bottle wine collection up for auction in 2014, and the resulting sales crushed previous wine auction records. The bottles, most of which were Burgundies, netted Welland $6.6 million dollars when all was said and done. 

Casanuova delle Cerbaie marks Welland’s second major vineyard purchase. In 2005, he was able to secure a slice of Gevrey-Chambertin in the legendary Côte de Nuits, one of the Côte d’Or’s most prestigious grape-growing regions. He currently leases the land to Domaine Dujac.

The Montosoli Vineyard

The vineyards of Casanuova delle Cerbaie are planted at 800 to 1000 feet above sea level. Vines planted at this height usually reside in soils that produce brooding, full-bodied flavors. In contrast, grapes grown towards the top of the vineyard hills result in wines with more prominent red fruit notes. 

But that’s not what makes this property so special. You see, a good portion of the grapes used to produce Casanuova delle Cerbaie Brunellos come from Montalcino’s famous Montosoli Vineyard, which has been heralded as a “grand cru” in Tuscany. One of the unique features of the deal to buy the Casanuova delle Cerbaie winery was that the property included 1.5

hectares of Montosoli vineyards and 5.5 hectares of additional Montalcino vineyards.

Winemakers love working with grapes from the Montosoli hillsides because they produce Brunellos that have an unmistakable elegance to them. Like all great vineyard sites, part of what makes this venerable vineyard worthwhile is its soil composition. The soil, which is described as galestro soil, has clay-like qualities, but it hasn’t quite evolved into clay.

Galestro soil provides great drainage for vines, and certain parcels of the Montosoli Vineyard, in particular, are known for imparting a subtle salinity to the wines. An interesting fact about galestro soil: the best Chianti Classicos are also made from grapes grown in this soil.

What is Brunello di Montalcino?

In order for a wine to be labeled ‘Brunello di Montalcino’, these bottles must meet a few specific criteria. The DOCG designation, which was established in 1980, states that Brunello di Montalcino wines must:

• Be made with grapes from the vineyards in and around the town of Montalcino.
• Use 100% Sangiovese Grosso grapes (absolutely no blending is allowed).
• The wines must be made and bottled within the town of Montalcino.
• Brunello Riserva must be aged for a total of six years. That means a minimum 24 months in barrel and six months in bottle.
• Brunello Normale must be aged for a total of five years. 24 months must be spent in the barrel and four months in the bottle. 

Old Brunello vs. Young Brunello

If you start doing a deep dive into Brunello, there is one theme that is repeated over and over again: patience. There are wines you can drink a few years after bottling, and then there are Brunellos. 

Most wine professionals will recommend holding onto your Brunello until it is at least ten years old. The Sangiovese grape is so incredibly thick-skinned that it needs time to mellow out in the bottle. If you open one of these wines earlier, say when they are released, you will be greeted with a wine that is overwhelmingly tannic – even if you try decanting.

Young Brunellos have a kind of in-your-face acidity and mouth-puckering tartness that can be difficult to get past palate-wise. While they are ripe with red fruit notes, wines at this stage of aging are very tightly wound and don’t showcase the quality of wine that the Sangiovese grape is capable of producing.