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Donatella’s 5 star Chianti Superiore 2012

An incredible harvest where Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s emotions went from despair to enthusiasm and the vines proved their intelligence

Chianti Superiore Donatella Cinelli Colombini

2012, three torrid months without any rain and a great thinning out of the grapes to help the thirsty vines……….. and then a miracle: the showers arrive the first few days of September and that’s how we got a 5 star vintage.

Not many clusters, but exceptional grapes, and sound. The clusters were loose and small, absolutely ripe and with the seeds perfectly lignified. These small grapes coloured your fingers as soon as you touched them, so the must consequently was very intense red, typical in great wines.

The vines for producing the Chianti Superiore are at Fattoria del Colle in the southern part of the Chianti region, on hills at about 400 metres above sea level, with soil very rich in sea sands. An old territory which is uncontaminated and is cultivated with great attention of the environment.

Type: dry red

Production area: Toscana, Trequanda, Fattoria del Colle.

Vintage characteristics: the grape harvest was preceded by 12 dry months and a torrid summer with very high temperatures even at night. The leaves and the green shoots were used to shade the grapes. The grapes were thinned out twice.

Grape types: 90% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo.

Grape harvest: From September 10^th to 15th^. The grapes were handpicked and brought to the winery in20 Kg crates in less than 30 minutes. The cool temperatures and sometimes even quite cold ones allowed us to bring in grapes at 20°C. After being de-stemmed the best grapes were selected on a sorting table, mechanically and manually.

15 December 2014

in Forum: News and lifestyle, Not only wine...

The best 2014 wine post regards Turkish wines

The digital wine Oscar, Wine blog award, went to Lauren Mowery for a post regarding Turkish wines made with autochthonous varieties published in her blog Chasing the vine

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Lauren Mowery

There are 9 wine blog awards but the most important is surely the one for best blog post of the year. The award exists since 2007 and has quickly asserted itself as a prestigious prize. There are about one

Wine Blog Awards

hundred participants and they get voted online, so as to choose the 5 finalists. A panel of experts then chooses the winner. The award living ceremony takes place during the Wine Bloggers Conference, resembling the real Oscar ceremony which takes place in front of the whole film world.
But let’s see you won the most desired prize, she is called Lauren Mowery and is a pretty young blonde journalist who writes about travel and wine. Here articles have been published by Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast, Saveur, and The Wine Merchant …. and by many other magazines among which her personal blog Chasing the Vine. On Twitter she has 14.200 followers … in other words she is a grand opinion leader and most of all she has had the courage to study a wine region which is still unknown such as Turkey letting us thus all discover a paradox. It is the nation with the longest wine making history – 7-15.000 years –and the political and religious situation most contrary to the consumption of alcohol.

13 December 2014

in Uncategorized

Japan beats Scotland, whisky gets on almond shake eyes

Jim Murray in his whisky bible talks about this overtaking; he is the major world expert who for the past 12 years has classified the top productions after having tasted them all

Jim Murray Whisky Bible 2015 cover

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
The World Whisky Bible is the most authoritative guide on whisky around with 4.500 descriptive sheets regarding both famous and still unknown labels. In ordering it through pre-sale system (9,99£) it is possible to receive copies autographed by the author Jim Murray. But who is this super expert that, in the guide fliers, seems to have eyes as yellow as the whisky he is drinking? He has visited more distilleries than any other human being and is known to be incorruptible and absolutely impervious to any type of pressure
Murray is a 50 year old Brit with long hair, phlegmatic movements and a

whisky Suntory Yamazaki

typical British sense of humour that makes him smile often. He is a great football and distilled spirits and he presents TV programs on both subjects. In other words he is an undisputed guru and his decision to put the Suntory Yamazaki distillery’s whisky on the throne has made all of Scotland tremble, here distillations supplies jobs for 35.000 people and the stills are even portrayed on banknotes.
Jim Murray loves novelties and this explains why more than one fifth of the whiskies he writes about in his bible are unheard of. This courage in coming face to face with change, and even revolutions, is the foundation of the decision to exclude the Scottish from the first 5 positions in the “Bible”. After the Japanese whisky there are in fact 3 US bourbons and one from England.

4 December 2014

More and more vines in the Unesco world heritage area

Zibibbo in Pantelleria just like the vineyards in the Langhe and the same as the Val d’Orcia with its Brunello and Doc Orcia wine areas are all cultural heritage of mankind

Written by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Pantelleria shrub shaped vines

Great steps forward have been made in the appreciation of the value of material culture and a sort of return for those of us who live in the countryside. Believe me, with my degree in history of medieval art who has always looked upon the classification from Unesco as a means of protecting the most important expressions of human civilizations. For this reason I had always been surprised by some strange choices: in Crespi d’Adda is accepted among the world heritage sites, while Assisi, with the San Francesco convent with frescoes by Cimabue, Simone Martini and Giotto … is accepted only 5 years later. Better late than never, which is what has happened on the other hand to Naples, Palermo and Bologna.

30 November 2014

in Uncategorized

Perrier-Jouët those who transform “brutal” into brut

Let’s do something mad: let’s drink a bottle of Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs 2002 and lets taste a something of a myth, sensual and ageless

Seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Perrier-Jouët-Belle-Epoque-Blanc-de-Blancs

My husband Carlo Gardini and I love having our food accompanied by bubbles. Every excuse is a good one: in the summer it’s so hot, autumn with its truffles (Fattoria del Colle has 5 truffle preserves), the necessity to change after having so many red wines. The Perrier Jouet is not among my favourites because I hate the Art Nouveau style and this Champagne bottle as always seemed to me to be horrendous. But I have discovered that its contents are not bat at all, in fact I must say that it deeply enthrals me.
For this reason the article by Caroline Henry on Wine Searcher attracted my attention straight away: The 10 things that every wine lover ought to know about Perrier-Jouët.
Some of these resemble fairytales. First of all the history: Pierre Nicolas Perrier and Rose Adelaïde (Adèle) Jouët get married in 1810. He sells corks and she is 19 and the daughter of a Calvados producers. A year later they create their winery Perrier-Jouët and three years later they buy a large building where still today the company management is found.

29 November 2014

in Uncategorized

“My name is Malala” Nobel Peace Prize winner 2014

Malala Yousafzai 17 years old from Pakistan said to Obama and other world leaders<instead of sending weapons send books and teachers> this is the young people’s revolution

Malala with Barack and Michelle Obama

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

For the first time the most important worldwide prize for peace operators, the Nobel Prize, has been assigned to a teenager. Malala, little more than a child, comes from Mingora, on the northwest frontier of Pakistan, the mountain region called Swat, controlled by the Taleban. For the first time this choice found all in agreement, no arguments, or squabbles as happened to the prize-giving to Obama or to the European Union during the past few years. Malala is an international symbol of

Malala after the attack

courageand of a new way of being young and contributing actively to change the world.

She will receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo next December together with the Indian Kailash Satyarthi who is fighting against child labour and children slaves. The choice of two people from two nations that are fighting a war between them is emblematic and wishes to solicit the end of fighting.

26 November 2014

The Leone Rosso 2011 by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Few small clusters of Merlot and Sangiovese for an Orcia Doc Leone Rosso wine, in the 2011 vintage, the earliest and quickest one can remember

Leone Rosso 2011 Orcia DOC Donatella Cinelli Colombini

On September 26^th all of the grapes had been picked and the cellar master Barbara Magnani was involved in a very delicate fermentation process. The grapes had ripened very quickly compressing into less than two month the colouring of the grapes and the harvest. This quickening of the process was induced by the African heat wave that began halfway through August and that had dried the grapes and reduced when more the already scant amount of grapes.

The rampant lion with a sphere in his right paw is the blazon belonging to Claudio Socini who, in 1592 built Fattoria del Colle. The emblem of this Sienese family can be seen on the entrance portal and also in the hall of coat of arms in the villa, in the Chapel and in the Trequanda parish church above the Ascension painted by Antonio Bazzi called Sodoma.

In truth the Socini family lost Fattoria dl Colle just after having built it because of the “free thinker” ideas of 5 of its members, closer to the protestants rather than to the Pope. It was mostly the writings by Lelio (1525-1562) and Fausto (1539-1604) against the trinity that caused the excommunication and the confiscation of their properties. Fattoria del Colle was then, by chance, bought back by their descendent Livio Socini in 1919.

To these ancestor Donatella Cinelli Colombini has dedicated the wine Leone Rosso which is produced with the grapes from Fattoria del Colle.

Type: dry red.

Production area: Toscana, Trequanda, Fattoria del Colle

Vintage characteristics: very rainy winter and spring. From mid August a torrid period with day and night temperatures between 35-40°C. Ripening very accelerated and harvest time anticipated and rapid because of the reduced amount of grapes.

Grape type: Sangiovese 60%, Merlot 40%.

25 November 2014

in Uncategorized

Let’s cure ourselves with food and let’s do it with pleasure

Curcuma, black pepper, peperoncino, cumin ……these are some surprising spices with virtues, from soothing to stimulating, even from a sexual point of view

spices

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

A long time herbs and spices were the only remedy for illnesses. Monks and apothecaries used them knowledgeably, then their use became connected to the world of magic and the trust one had in them was substituted with doubts. On the other hand the Chinese and the Indians have continued using them in abundance, and with often surprising results.

It is consequently very useful to

Pharmacy in 1600

know which effects on our body the spices have, those which sometimes inadvertently we put in our food and drinks. In any case without herbs and spices our food would not have the same charm and pleasantness in its taste.

Curcuma is the queen of healing with 50 therapeutic virtues. It is an excellent anti-inflammatory. In India added to milk and butter it is used as a cough remedy. Over here it is present in the spray versions of nose decongestants. Its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-stress proprieties are useful also as a shield against cancer.
Cumin prevents cancer and cures diabetes and osteoporosis tank to its ample contents of Phytoestrogens.
Continue reading

23 November 2014

The fiasco modified becomes a Dame-Janine

Dame Janine is a female fiasco, designed by a French artist called Clet Abraham, the Street art artist, and Ruffino will make 6000 of them

Dame-Janine Ruffino wine fiasco

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
The Tuscan fiasco, the first protagonist of the success and most of all, o f the exporting of Chianti, has a second youth. Other than the Museum created by the Bartolozzi family, now there is an artistic restyling commissioned by Ruffino for its Chianti Superiore 2012. A great 5 star vintage for the most prestigious denomination of the Chianti appellations and a striking packaging . The fiasco gets its female version, it turns up-side-down and resembles a human face. The name Dame Janine recalls the French for Lady Jane but is a clear reference to the damigiana, demijohn, the straw covered container similar and larger than a fiasco. It was greatly used inTuscany to transport and preserve wine up until 50 years ago.

So a game in a game where the protagonist is Clet Abraham the famous Street art artist, the most transgressive and suprising of them all. Born in Rennes he now lives in Florence and he got into the newspapers by hacking street signs all over Europe, injecting a little humour into the mundane commute, being provocative such as the Christ on a Cross on a “Dead end “ sign, that created a revolt among Catholics (me included) . His most

Gianluca Monaci with Dame Janine

extraordinary action was carried out on the night of January 19^th2011 where on the Ponte alle Grazie inFlorence, he positioned a sculpture of a “Piccolo uomo nero” small black man, committing suicide in theArno river. This action wanted to be a polemic warning to the ex position in Palazzo Vecchio, in the Studiolo di Francesco I,heart of the Florentine government, of a skull covered in diamonds –value of 100 million – rcreated by Damien Hirst. As if to say … in fro of such contempt for death and poverty, an orinary man con do nothign else but jump off a brige. In the end I suppose Clet is right.

The renewal of the fiasco by such an artist it is an act of bravery, but also an important contribution. The glass container with straw all around was used in Tuscany since the Middle Age. You can find references in Boccaccio’s Decameron and in paintings by Botticelli and Ghirlandaio. In the second half of the 18^thcentury it eased Chianti wine exportation thanks to its distinctive character and the straw that protected the glass from breaking. Its image has long remained tied to that of low price Italian wine which was the first to be exported from our country.

13 November 2014

in Farm experiences

New year at Fattoria del Colle as a couple or with friends

Relaxation and great wines, massages and guided winery tours, dinners and vinotherapy, cookery lessons to lean the local cuisine, this is what will be waiting for you at fattoria del Colle

New Year 2012 Fattoria del Colle sala liberty

Fattoria del Colle is in a corner of Tuscanystill miraculously intact, it is practically a small hamlet surrounding a chapel and a villa from the 16th century. There are rooms with bathroom and apartments (from to 2 to 14 guests) where the antique furniture adds a touch of intimacy which reminds one of our grandparents homes. A place apt for relaxation and where one can enjoy the splendid panoramas.
The main protagonist is the wine, with the vineyards around the estate and the cellar under the villa. To the Chianti and Orcia wines produced at Fattoria del Colle must be added the Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino coming from Casato Prime Donne belonging to the same owner. Great wines to which dinners and tours will be dedicated as well as the couples bathing time in the tub for vinotherapy and the massages with products made from grapes and wine in the newest part of our wellness centre. A harmonious world of good things to be discovered in a fun and stimulating way through many brief experiences and especially thanks to the guided and itinerant tastings.
For the New Year period enjoy friendship, nature and some gluttony!

3 romantic days as a couple € 248 per person + New Years Eve dinner 90€

Vinotherapy at Fattoria del Colle countryinn

2 nights in double room with bathroom and breakfast with home baked cakes, local cold cuts and cheeses

Wellness – vinotherapy and couple massages

1 dinner with wine tasting with 4 courses and 3 wines
Guided tour of the Brunello winery and brief tasting
Itinerant tasting and tour of the historic halls at Fattoria del Colle
Cookery lesson regarding the Sienese Christmas cakes

3 days on the estate for the New year with family, friends and four-legged friends € 176 a persona + New Years Eve dinner 90€
2 nights in an apartment (2 bedrooms 1 bathroom – 3 bedrooms -2 bathrooms) self catering
1 dinner in the restaurant at Fattoria del Colle with 4 courses and 3 wines
Two hour wellness experience with Turkish bath, sauna, sensorial shower, and mini Jacuzzi with chromotherapy
Guided tour of the Brunello winery and a brief tasting
Itinerant tasting and tour of the historic halls of Fattoria del Colle
Cookery lesson regarding the Sienese Christmas cakes

12 November 2014

in Forum: News and lifestyle

The 10 most expensive whiskies in the world

The bottle of whisky that costs the most fetches 121.451 Dollars but the first 10 give an average price between 32 and 10.000$ and they are all single malt Scotch

the-macallan-lalique-60-year-old-single-malt-scotch-whisky-speyside-highlands-scotland

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Think of a hall in a castle with a lit fire in the fireplace, carpets on the wooden floors and book cases which reach the ceiling, think of after dinner time in the smoking-room … think of a butler who serves you with white gloves, on a silver tray, a bottle of The Macallan Lalique that is 60 years old containing a single malt Scotch Whisky Speyside –Highlands. And now imagine the sensual aroma coming from the amber coloured liquid in your glass. Well, you have in your glass 2.700$ of the most expensive whisky in the world!!!

This is only a dream obviously, only English Lords, sheiks, petrol tycoons and the likes can afford such experiences, but we remain curious so we discover a list of the 10 whiskies for the super rich proposed by Wine

Charlie-Whitfield-The-Macallan-2011

Searcher the portal that collects the prices from 47.000 stores from all over the world. The list of the 10 most expensive whiskies is built on the average prices but the most impressive thing is the maximum prices, there is someone selling Glenfiddich ‘Rare Collection at 121.451 Dollars
• The Macallan Lalique 60 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside – Highlands
• The Macallan Lalique 62 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside – Highlands
• Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside
• Glenfiddich 50 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside
• Glenfiddich ‘Rare Collection’ Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside
• Glenfarclas John Grant 60 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside
• The Macallan Fine & Rare Vintage Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside – Highlands
• The Macallan Select Reserve Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside – Highlands
• Highland Park 50 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Orkney
• Ardbeg Special Release Double Barrel 33 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Islay

10 November 2014

Will the future sommelier be a robot?

This machine comes from the Aarhus University in Denmark, it tastes wine as if it were a human mouth, but however requests for sommeliers increase

human tasting

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Please do not laugh, the AarhusUniversityis among the 100 top universities in the world (our first one is Bologna 150^th position), it has 32.000 students and is the second university inDenmark. So lets consider the thing with the upmost respect. It seems that the SPR technology – surface plasmon resonance – that uses optical sensors to calculate the level of tannins in wine and simulate even the effect of saliva. In fact according to the Danes their sensors are better than the human palate because more objective.

This research has been published by the scientific magazine ACS Nano creating a turmoil in the world of wine tasters. This artificial tongue does not really substitute the real sommelier because 2/3 of the

electronic sommelier

perception of the quality of a wine is found in its symbolic values: the 1000 years of the Romanée Conti vineyard, the Petrus served at Queen Elizabeth’s wedding banquet and at the White House by Kennedy, the Mouton labels autographed by some of the greatest contemporary artists, or the female Brunello from Casato Prime Donne …. The Sommelier knows the vintages, the great stories, and the little bits of gossip … in other words he can transform a wine tasting into an unforgettable experience made to measure for each consumer, things that the robot cannot do. Not to mention the uncorking rite! However the new method will have useful applications in medical diagnosis and this is good news.

8 November 2014

in Uncategorized

Flying wines

These are the characteristics of wines to be consumed while in flight according to the Master of Wine and world champion Sommelier Markus Del Monego and our Andrea Gori

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

First Class dining

The starting point is a brief article by Andrea Gori who comments positively the choices made by Airlines regarding wines << it is really difficult, at least in first class and business class, to not find specialities that have great value>>. In fact to capture and render faithful the frequent flyers it is necessary to also offer them wine experiences which gratify them and surprise them especially during long transatlantic flights.

Lufthansa and Air France have asked advice of two world champion sommeliers: Markus Del Monego, winner in 1998 and Olivier Poussier, winner in 2000, who will create for the Airlines some onboard cabinets, where the contents will be changed every couple of months. The German airlines keep an eye on trends and specialized press opinions, then they select the bottles though a blind tasting so as not to influence the opinion of the tasters with brand name or appellation. The wines apt for consumption while on board must have low acidity or very soft tannins. Those with a slight residual sugar level are fine, as those with high alcohol content, as these two elements are not at all perceived whilst in flight. Criteria which correspond to the requests of the very clever Andrea Gori <<fresh young wines that are very intense in taste and in the aroma>>.

8 November 2014

in Uncategorized