On Sunday May 26th great wines, great music and great images from the land of Brunello at Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s winery for a “sensorial” Cantine Aperte-Wine day

Montalcino, Casato Prime Donne winery Wine Day 2013

Donatella Cinelli Colombini, who in 1993 invented Cantine Aperte, has decided to renew the formula for the visit among the barrels, transforming it into an experience which exalts and comments wine with sounds, images and obviously tastes. The sound track studied by Bonella Ciacci – a sort of expert in wine and music accompanies 8 wines divided in three tasting spots.

We are at Casato Prime Donne, on the Montalcino hills, facing Siena, and this is where the wine and music trail is. First stop dedicated to Chianti and Doc Orcia from Fattoria del Colle, Donatella’s other winery. Here the music is contemporary Italian pop from the area such as Baustelle, Gianna Nannini and Jovanotti. The next stop in the Vineyard and the vinification areas called tinaia del vento built to produce Brunello with autochthonous yeasts.

Bruce Sanderson the super wine taster for Wine Spectator has awarded the “enticing” Brunello Riserva 2007 from Casato Prime Donne with 94/100

Brunello Riserva 2007 rated 94/100 from Wine Spectator

The prestigious wine magazine “Wine Spectator” is a sort of bible for those who sell, collect or only drink great wines all over the world. Its authoritativeness depends on the level of its tasters who are all great experts absolutely impervious to any external influences. It for this reason, to guarantee this distance, that Brunello also is tasted in New York where the Consorzio sends, every years, nearly a thousand bottles coming from all of the member wineries. This rating of 94/100 for the Brunello Riserva is excellent and has filled Donatella Cinelli Colombini with joy and pride.

This is what Bruce Sanderson head of the Wine Spectator tasting commission

Brunello Riserva 2007 from Casato Prime Donne

wrote regarding the.
94/100 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2007
<<A deft use of oak adds spice and roundness to this bright, cherry and plum-laced Brunello. There’s a beam of acidity maintaining focus as the fruit melds into dense, burly tannins. Needs time to integrate, but this remains enticing. Best from 2015 through 2030>>.

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

The hopeful expressions and the work carried out by the wine makers during the largest Italian wine fair. The courageous proposals by Veronafiere for Asia.

Carlo Gardini and Violante

Seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

What is amazing is the lack of enormous traffic jams we were used to in the past, even though the Vinitaly pavilions were overflowing with people even more than usual. One was even scared to take an escalator in case it was not possible to get off again.

What most explains peoples desire to work hard is the type of shoes worn: no heels, and lots of walking shoes, a proclamation saying “no one is going to stop us!” In the Donne del Vino restaurant, on the first day of the fair, they continued serving lunches until 5pm, as there was such a crowd.

With Franco Biondi Santi ends an era of Brunello’s history

Franco-Biondi-Santi

A courageous and tireless paladin for Sangiovese in Montalcino as a wine excellence, he has been protagonist of the success of Italian wine in the world.
After a brief illness he was first admitted in the Siena hospital and then in the Montalcino one, 3 days ago Franco Biondi Santi passed away.
The Biondi Santi’s are the family who for first and with great tenacity has affirmed the quality of Brunello as a wine with great virtue and apt for a long ageing. With their culture and elegance that has always characterized their life and friendships, the Biondi Santi’s, and especially Franco, have divulged Brunello as a wine of excellence destined to a restricted number of wine estimators. A network of rapports which has widened, opening up the way for the diffusion of Brunello all over the world.
The news of his departure, which spread during the first day of the Vinitaly fair, has deeply grieved the Brunello producers, who now think of him with regret and gratefulness.

Goodbye dear Franco we are already missing you.

Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Soldera’s accusations towards the Consorzio and its Brunello producers published in “Corriere della Sera” are fantasy and can do a lot of damage

View of Montalcino

The nastiest thing is the accusing the Consorzio of having <<proposed a fraud, offering wine from others to be bottled as his own>>. This is ridiculous, the producers wanted to give him part of their production to help him in a difficult moment, creating a “Brunello della solidarietà” a Solidary Brunello and this is his reply? Is he not ashamed?

He creates doubts, talks of mysteries, when the only mystery is how miraculously barrel sand barrels of his precious Brunello have suddenly reappeared. At least 350 Hl it seems, not a demijohn ….at least 5 barrels for 50Hl, as the “Corriere della Sera” talks of 7.000 bottles per year. But hadn’t the vandalic act destroyed all of his wine? Are we maybe at the wedding at Cana?
Soldera accuses the Consorzio because it does not invest in the studies of control systems regarding the pureness of the Sangiovese for Brunello, but that is not true! The Consorzio has invested about 150.000 € in these studies, entrusting the to the major wine research centre in Italy, the one found in San Michele all’Adige. The researchers, directed by Prof. Mattivi have discovered a method of investigation and the Consorzio will present it during the next convention.