Vines and wines

Muchas gracias Giulia y Ricardo the wine shop owners from Forte dei Marmi

Enoteca Giulia, is place where one is surrounded by love. Love for life, love of novelties love of good food and great wines …. Love for people and especially for Ricardo Giulia’s very nice Spanish husband.

seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Forte dei Marmi, now a cult seaside resort for Russian billionaires and before

Forte dei Marmi - Enoteca Giulia - Giulia e Ricardo

that for the Agnelli family. It is a place where it is difficult to offer the usual things; here everything must necessarily be different.

Giulia has succeeded in this. And without much effort also, because she is one who reads Cervantes in the original language, she blends design objects other things invented with exquisite taste.

Let me give you an irreverent example, but all the same you will understand better, al you need to do is visit the bathroom.

95/100 from wine Enthusiast for our Brunello Riserva 2006

Monica Larner, the young and very clever wine taster for the Wine Enthusiast appreciates the Brunello riserva 2006 by Donatella Cinelli Colombini [caption id="attachment_6111" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Casato Prime Donne Donatella Cinelli Colombini"][/caption] During the past few days she has tasted 110 Brunello di Montalcino 2007 “selezione” and Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2006. At the end her judgement has been positive and even enthusiastic for the whole Montalcino territory, which has been able to express itself at the highest levels for two consecutive years even though there have been some differences between the sub-zones. <<enormous richness, monumental structure and opulence in...

The OIV adventure is concluded, we all go home!

The adventure began long ago in November 2010, from then many new friendships have been made, many stamps on my passport, many wineries visited, many wines tasted….

Students in Champagne

After a long time we have returned to the OIV headquarters in Rue d’Aguesseau in Paris in exactly the same room where, 15 month previously we had began our Master course. We are here for two weeks lessons and exams.

But now it is different, now I can say: Diplȏme International de l’OIV in Management du Secteur de la Vigne et du Vin “done”.

Paris is well worth a mass!

Parigi-Oliver

Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Brunello is in Paris

I met Oliver Nicolazo and his girlfriend Julia here at Fattoria del Colle where the young couple were spending a romantic holiday. Oliver is a wine lover and knows many wineries around the world, he is curious, always smiling and constantly looking for excellent new wines to taste which are to fascinate and charm him.
He lives in Paris where he is the owner and manager of “Cave Nicolas”. And when I arrived in the French capital to conclude my Master OIV I make the most of the opportunity and go and visit him.
His shop is well visible from the outside and is well organized, with many shelves, and on shelf in the centre our Brunello stands out.

The Brunello 2007 begins its journey around the world with a rating of 94/100

Monica Larner, the very clever taster for the “Wine Enthusiast” magazine, is the first to have tasted and to have expressed her opinion regarding the Brunello 2007. Her opinion is very positive regarding the whole production, and in particular regarding ours. Here is the beginning of her article << The 2007 vintage of Brunello di Montalcino is a lovely expression of variety and territory—a true celebration of this austere yet sophisticated red wine from southern Tuscany. Wine Enthusiast Magazine was among the first to blind taste through the new vintage and found it to be indeed one of the most...

Il Drago e le 8 colombe

Today is the beginning of the Chinese New Year and this is the year of the dragon. A magic year for this wine which changes completely.

New vintage, new blend of grapes, new name and new packaging for the Drago wine by Donatella Cinelli Colombini.

“Il Drago e le 8 colombe” in the flesh

The doves represent the women and consequently refer to the female cellar staff, a revolutionary work situation for Italy. With the arrival of the female consultant wine maker Valérie Lavigne the doves increase in number and the name of the wine changes: it used to be called “Il Drago e le Sette Colombe” and has become “Il Drago e le 8 Colombe”

Quite on the contrary the Drago emphasizes a male presence – nobody here wants to be discriminating – in the person of Carlo Gardini, Donatella’s husband who is a great wine lover
The arrival of Valérie Lavigne, sets of a serious thought about Italian grape varieties and the possibility of blending them to make high quality wines that are able to sell on foreign markets.
From here the desire to emphasize the Sagrantino grape, a variety greatly used in Umbria, which is just 20km away from Fattoria del Colle and belongs to the same geographical area. For the moment we are cultivating Sagrantino grapes in just a few rows, but soon it will be possible to harvest a whole new Vineyard.

The Cancello Nero vineyard is beautiful once again

Written By Donatella Cinelli Colombini for the vine and the cellar

Fattoria del Colle impianto Cancello Nero

The  “Cancello Nero” Vineyard, the best at Fattoria del Colle, is returning to its old glory. A few days ago the grape growers captained by Efisio Luche have planted the poles which will hold the steel wires were the vines will grow.

This is job seems easy but it is not so. In fact the aesthetics want the poles to be well aligned, from whichever angle one is looking at the vineyard. This is only way to give the vine covered hills a harmonious aspect, in that agrees with the surrounding countryside.

The Brunello 2007 is just born

Brunello di Montalcino and other wines

Brunello becomes Brunello at midnight of new years eve. Let me explain

Old vineyard Casato Prime Donnebetter: the red wine produced with Sangiovese grapes in Montalcino , then vinified, aged in barrel and refined in bottle according to the rules, become Brunello at midnight of January 1st of the 5th year after the harvest.

So the new Brunello is just born. In this case it is an extraordinary harvest: vintage 2007 – five stars, where the grapes reached a level of perfection never seen before.

Let me tell you how the climate was in 2007, and why it brought to the production of such wonderful grapes. That year the winter never arrived. In Tuscany it seemed as though one was in Sicily and it was possible to eat out of doors even in January. The rainfalls arrived in Spring. During the summer regardless of a few days of heat wave , the temperatures were quite normal, with some storms that occasionally reduced the temperature and helped the vine’s vegetative cycle.

Which is best Brunello 2006 or 2007?

 Brunello di Montalcino and other wines

Sangiovese cluster

At Casato Prime Donne surely 2007, thanks to the new vineyards that have now reached maturity in the amount produced and the quality They are, however, two extraordinary harvests, one after the other, which is really very rare in Brunello‘s history. Both with a 5 star rating, yet two harvest very different one from the other.

 
It’s worthwhile examining them so as to understand what they have in common and how the best Sangiovese grapes in Montalcino can come from very different situations, so that there cannot be a precise recipe as there is in the kitchen, but how then can be, on the other hand, some natural circumstances which when they coincided must be understood and made the most of by the grape pickers and wine makers.

The 7 doves become 8

Do you remember the wine “Il Drago e le 7 colombe”? With the arrival of Valèrie Lavigne, the all female staff of Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s wineries grows. The doves taking flight, symbol of the “Prime Donne” Project, are now 8.

The 8 doves

But who is the dragon?It’s Carlo Gardini. He arrived three years ago and is Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s husband. At the beginning his sectors were finance and the estate restaurant, but since last year Carlo is protagonist of wine projects with the creation of a passito and more recently of a Vin Santo “occhio di pernice” which however will be available for tasting in a few years time.

Our Brunello talks Chinese

First Chinese brochure for Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s wine and her daughter Violante gets almond shaped eyes doing the editing....

Doc Orcia communicates via mobile phone

News from the Doc Orcia wine region: the Strada del vino Orcia is the first to have a signposting with QRcode on it and the wines of the denomination grow with the types "Sangiovese" and Riserva ...