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97/100 FROM JAMES SUCKLING FOR IOsonoDonatella 2016

SUCKLING AWARDS WITH 97/100 THE BRUNELLO WHICH DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI CREATED TO TELL HER STORY. PRODUCED IN ONLY 180 BOTTLES WITH A CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini #winedestination

IoSonoDonatella 2016 – 97/100 by James Suckling

An extraordinary vintage like 2016, a super selection of 180 bottles sold only inside a box containing a flight of 3 vintages of Brunello IOsonoDonatella 2013, 2015 and 2016. The latter has a particularity: it has a “pedigree”, which means it is certified with the names of all those who have owned it. Obviously the first signature belongs to Donatella Cinelli Colombini and the certificate serves to trace the wine as if it were an important painting.

It is the desire to create something rare, precious and exclusive, in addition to the intrinsic quality of the wine that brings IOsonoDonatella Brunello into the field of collector’s wines. A quality that is confirmed by the stellar score given by James Suckling, the critic who, among wine journalists of global stature, is the one who most addresses consumers who are always in search of precious wine gems.

ROSSO DI MONTALCINO DOC 2022 ORGANIC WINE

2022 CHARACTERIZED BY DROUGHT HAS GIVEN GRAPES AND WINES OF EXCEPTIONAL STRUCTURE AND REQUIRED DELICATE WINE-MAKING TO MAKE THE TANNINS SILKY

Rosso di Montalcino 2022 – Donatella Cinelli Colombini

2022 will be remembered as the year of drought and tannin. The grapes were very small. The very favourable relationship between the skin and the juice of the grape produced an exceptional concentration of noble substances and above all of tannins in the wine. For this reason, the vinification was very delicate and the maceration in contact with the skins was prolonged. In this way the cellar workers made the tannins of the new wine silky and non-aggressive. With the same purpose, the future Rosso di Montalcino was put into barrel in November, a month earlier than usual. The result is a powerful and sunny Rosso, like the heat of summer 2022, but also with a surprisingly fresh sip thanks to the perfect acid content of the grapes.

THE FIRST SCORES ARRIVE FROM VINOUS FOR THE NEW VINTAGES

ERIC GUIDO INVITES US TO BUCKLE OUR SEATBELTS, JUST LIKE WHEN A PLANE TAKES OFF, BECAUSE BRUNELLO 2019 TAKES WINE LOVERS STRAIGHT INTO THE SKY

New Brunello di Montalcino 2019 by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

<< The current releases from Montalcino are a treasure for collectors and enthusiasts of this denomination>> writes Eric Guido at the beginning of his article on the 2019 Brunellos. << This is a year in which the entire area has excelled, from the south -west to east and from north-east to west>> explains the young but talented American critic, showing a Brunello shelf full of <<world-class wines of the highest quality and, in most cases, at reasonable prices>>.

But the positive considerations do not stop here, Eric Guido also underlines the sequence of three excellent harvests 2019, 2020 and 2021, starting to trace the specificities of each << ….2019 offers a fusion of power and elegance in a rare way while maintaining a delicious balance between acidity and structure… The terms classic, bold, cool-toned, crisp and elegant fill my tasting notes…. 2020, an elegant year with great concentration and high alcohol….. finally, 2021 presents a marriage between the previous two, with rich, intense fruit, elegance and balanced tannic structures >>.

These three aces promise to drive wine enthusiasts, and especially Brunello lovers, crazy.

BRUNELLO PRIME DONNE 2019 BIO -ORGANIC

In Montalcino, 2019 will be remembered as the perfect Sangiovese harvest. Bunches and berries so small that the winemaker Valérie Lavigne said <<it looks like Cabernet>>

Brunello di Montalcino selezione Prime Donne 2019

This harvest had two surprising characteristics: on the day of harvest the vines were still in vegetation, an unusual circumstance that also occurred in 2010. As in that magical year, the grapes were excellent and abundant. An increasingly frequent characteristic with the new climate in which the vines find balance with a higher number of bunches than in the past.

Another surprising element is the robustness of the grapes. Sangiovese has few layers of cells in the skins, which is why the rainfalls, during the harvest period, are feared by producers and expose the bunches to possible mildew attacks. Well, in 2019 there were two very strong storms, on 22-23 September and on October 2^nd, which the Sangiovese survived intact.

With such a perfect grape, the must immediately showed extraordinary characteristics: intense colour and a wealth of impressive polyphenols. In order for these noble components to evolve well, very long macerations were carried out and the racking was delayed by a week -10 days.

ORGANIC BRUNELLO 2019 FROM CASATO PRIME DONNE

The 2019 super harvest marks the beginning of a lucky series for Montalcino with 4 excellent consecutive vintages. A circumstance that has never happened in the past resulting from the new climate.

New Brunello di Montalcino 2019 by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

The 2019 harvest is to be considered one of the best Montalcino harvests with small, loose Sangiovese bunches and grapes the size of a coin. A perfect grape for the production of a great aging Brunello. In fact, by transforming into wine, it immediately gave colour and aroma to the must. To fix the particular richness of noble materials deriving from the grapes, after alcoholic fermentation, the future Brunello 2019 underwent a very long maceration in contact with the skins and was drawn off with a delay of 10 days compared to normal.

BRUNELLO 2019 AND THE NEW CLIMATE

The 2019 Organic Brunello di Montalcino from Casato Prime Donne celebrates the effects of the new climate which has especially rewarded the cooler areas of Brunello. The northern area of ​​the Montalcino hill, where Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s estate is located, has always been considered the most humid and least sunny side. A circumstance that was once a misfortune and is now a fortune because, together with the richness of clay that makes the soil cold, it allows a gradual maturation of the grapes even in the current hot summers.

Obviously, the vines are cultivated differently from the past, for example, winemakers try to reduce the surface area of ​​active (young) leaves to 80 cm2 for each kg of grapes, in order to limit transpiration and therefore water consumption. Just as the management of the foliage of the vines has changed, which now serve to shade the grapes and protect them from the sun while they were once trimmed (cut). In fact, thirty years ago, the sun’s rays were sought while now they are avoided. The ORGANIC vineyard like ours therefore has a messier appearance than in the past, with lots of grass and many shoots but this wild appearance also corresponds to a greater respect for nature and the needs of the vines.