Vines and wines

Super selection of only 320 bottles of Passito di Traminer

Passito 2105: a sweet masterpiece born from a vineyard that is 50 years old, that is cultivated organically and that grows thanks to Carlo and Barbara’s attentions

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An exclusive production to which Carlo Gardini, Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s husband dedicates assiduous care and attention together with Barbara Magnani the cellar master. The Sanchimento vineyard from her the Passito grapes come is nearly 50 years old and it is the oldest at Fattoria del Colle. This age gives the wine elements of finesse, complexity and minerality.

This is an artisan Passito made with a lot of passion and nothing else. Carlo and Barbara fuss over the crates where the Traminer grapes are put as if they were baby cribs. They move them according to the sun, they shelter them inside if it rains and they check every cluster every day to be sure that the natural drying proceeds perfectly. A very big job for just 120 litres of production, justified only by the great passion that the pair has for sweet wines.

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Donatella Cinelli Colombini does not share their enthusiasm, quite the contrary for her a wine must have a nice intense ruby colour, so she does not take part in the tastings where Carlo and Barbara taste Sauternes, Tokay moulded wines and Passito from all over the world. Fortunately not everybody feels the same as Donatella and their efforts have been rewarded by 93/100 for the 2013 production from the important US magazine “Wine Advocate”.

The Passito comers from deep and well drained soils, from quaternary era, characterized by clay in also in conglomerate form. The Traminer vineyard is cultivated in organic regime. It is next to the Chapel at Fattoria del Colle, 404 m above sea level.

The Prince of Wales meets Brunello

On April 1st I met the Prince Charles the Prince of Wales, who charmed me off my feet. I assure you it is not an April fools, quite the contrary here I tell you all

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By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Toscana, Brunello, Casato Prime Donne

We producers we called to meet at 6 pm, but the royal couple arrived two hours later. Allegra Antinori, Jacopo Biondi Santi, Leonardo Frescobaldi, Vittorio Moretti from Petra, Giuseppe Mazzacolin from Felsina, Giovanni Manetti from Fontodi …. All ready to serve bottles that were impeccably presented by the sommeliers of FIS Fondazione Italiana Sommelier duided by Franco Ricci in person. The setting was spectacular: Villa San Michele, a terrace over Florence with a facade decorated by Michelangelo. The panorama is similar to that seen from my home, where in the 14^th century Giovanni Boccaccio set the scene of the “Ninfale fiesolano”, on the other hand maybe my view of Florence is better, but I do not have the exquisite elegance of the halls of this exclusive and romantic hotel. Maybe it is because of this luxury that Prince Charles and his wife Camilla have chosen it for

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their Italian stay.

I was expecting a somewhat sad character, someone frozen by etiquette but surprisingly Prince Charles was delightful, with a stupendously British “sense of humour” and an ability to mingle with people fruit of a life dedicated to his nation. He is an extraordinary ambassador for the United Kingdom, people love him. When I told him that my Brunello Riserva came from a winery staffed only by women he laughed thinking about how it might be cosseted but he was incredible curious about the organic regime in the vineyards <<is it difficult here for you? And how do you cure diseases?> he wanted to know.

Supertuscan: the multiethnic Il Drago e le 8 Colombe 2014

2014 surprises us with very pleasant wines at Fattoria del Colle, wines in a “20th century style”, elegant, complex and perfumed such as the Il Drago e le 8 Colombe

Il Drago e le 8 colombe IGT Toscana 2014

2014 was the year for organic wines. Only those, who like us, chose to grow their grapes without systemic products, brought home ripe and sound grapes. Contrary to the common certainty that “in rainy years only chemistry allows you to produce good grapes” it was in fact the grape growers who were more careful of the environment who picked the best grapes.

The 2014 vintage of “Il Drago e le 8 Colombe” is characterized by its great elegance, drinkability and pleasantness, with moderate alcohol and great harmony. The cool nights during the summer in 2014 favoured a slow ripening of the grapes and an aromatic richness superior to usual.

This wine is named “Il Drago e le 8 Colombe” because it tells of the curious situation in the first all female staff winery in Italy, but where there is also a male presence.

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It is Carlo Gardini, husband to Donatella Cinelli Colombini, the owner. He too expresses his passion for fine wines by following the procedures for producing of the desert wine making, the Passito and the Vin Santo.

He is the dragon on the label while the eight doves are: Donatella, her daughter Violante, the winemaker Valérie Lavigne, the cellar master Barbara and all the wine staff at Fattoria del Colle: Debora, Alessia, Antonella and Margherita.

Il Drago e le 8 Colombe is a “Supertuscan” wine, a Tuscan wine not covered by a DOC regime. It has fewer regulations regarding blends. This is made with Sangiovese, Merlot and Sagrantino. A variety the latter typical of the neighbouring Umbria and that in Fattoria del Colle grows perfectly. In this wine the three varieties bring different characteristics: The Sangiovese gives elegance, the Merlot pleasantness and Sagrantino gives structure.

Brunello 2012 Prime Donne, satisfying and enduring

The 2012 vintage has been rated 5 stars in the Montalcino territory and it is the first great Brunello Prime Donne in the new millennium style.

The high summer temperatures and the drought that lasted fifteen months gave us Mediterranean and satisfying wines. The Brunello 2012 Prime Donne is extraordinary now and will also be long lasting.

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That year the winter was cold and dry and even the abundant snowfalls did not irrigate the soil. The summer 2012 began with 12 months of previous dry weather and was dry an very hot even during the night. In those extreme conditions the vines demonstrated a surprising adaptability producing few clusters, small in size and most off, during the colouring of the grapes abandoned part of the fruit that remained green and were removed by the pickers during the green harvest. Nature moves in mysterious ways that mankind must watch with respect, that is why it can give exceptional results even in difficult conditions. The vineyards at Casato Prime Donne situated o the North side of the Montalcino slope, the cooler side, in 2012 well resisted the hydro stress also thanks to the clayey component of the soil  and to the continues hoeing that kept the soil soft. The 2012 harvest is consequently a memorable one with all the clusters healthy and perfectly ripe.

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The  Brunello 2012 Prime Donne is chosen by a panel of 4 female expert tasters from all of the Donatella Cinelli Colombini production,  and it distinguishes itself because of its heavier structure and its traditional style. The tasters meet once or twice a year and are the English Master Wine Rosemary George, the German wine shop owner Astrid Schwarz, one of the best Italian sommeliers Daniela Scrobogna and the Italo-American Pr Marina Thompson. In some years the tasters have decide not to produce a Brunello Prime Donne, but when they do, as in 2012, they always create small masterpieces that obtain excellent ratings from the most important international press.

Brunello 2012, five stars, a dream of a wine

Great vintage for Brunello and for Casato Prime Donne where the vineyards give their best when the weather is really hot

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The Casato Prime Donne winery belonged to Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s ancestors already at the end of the 16^th century when they were paying taxes for the cultivation of the land. It was used as a hunting lodge and for honeymoons, and for 4 centuries it has never been sold but has been passed down from one generation to another.

Since 1998 it is the first Italian winery to be staffed only by women: the cellar staff, the sales staff and the reception staff all are girls. The Casato Prime Donne wines are exported into 34 nations around the world and receive excellent ratings from wine critics all over the world.

This Brunello comes from 16 hectares of vineyard – pruning, cleaning, tying green harvest and harvest – all done by a team of 8 expert grape growers. Casato Prime Donne is on the northern slope of Montalcino, the cooler area that has had the most benefits from the  surrounding the winery where only Sangiovese is grown. The vines are reared, pruned tied harvested all manually by a team of 8 expert grape growers. Casato Prime Donne is on the northern slope of Montalcino the cooler area that has had most benefits thanks to the global warming and particularly in the hot dry vintages such as 2012, is where absolute excellence is created. In the Brunello territory the 2012 vintage is considered a top year with 5 stars. 

Type: dry red.

Production area: Tuscany, Montalcino, Casato Prime Donne

Where does Donatella and Violante's dove fly?

A new video for the  Cinelli Colombini winery but no change in the protagonist, Violante Gardini, together with a dove that flies through the Brunello and Orcia vines

This year too our estate video is out of the ordinary! Two and a half minutes to talk about the  all female staffed estates  belonging to Donatella, Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in southern  Chianti, a quick rhythm of images of the vines, the barrels, the vats, the grapes and bottles….with a lively rhythmical music , like a music box. The novelty, for the very traditional Italian world of is the presence of a cartoon dove that comes out of the Brunello “IOsonoDONATELLA” label and accompanies us in the discovery of the first wineries in Italy to be staffed by only women.

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It flies along the vines with curiosity during the harvest, it goes into the fermentation hall where the bare concrete truncated cone shake vats are decorated with images, real, and painted, of Montalcino, it peeps in at the wine tasting organized for the  Brunello Prime Donne with the Master of Wine Rosemary George, the sommelier Daniela Scrobogna and the wine shop owner Astrid Schwarz who blind taste while the wine maker Valerie Lavigne  and the cellar master Barbara Magnani try to combine the wine from different barrels looking for the perfect balance.

Rosso di Montalcino 2015: will it be a repetition of the 2010 vintage?

[caption id="attachment_11720" align="alignleft" width="300"] Rosso di Montalcino 2015[/caption] Well deserved 5 stars for this 2015 harvest. The Rosso di Montalcino from Casato Prime Donne fills us with enthusiasm. Everybody is asking if the 2015 vintage will be a repetition of the 2010. You will be the first to give your opinion to this Rosso di Montalcino, while waiting for the Brunello that is still resting in the barrels. In 2015 the ripening of the Sangiovese grapes was slow and perfect thanks to the position of the vineyards being on the cooler side of the Montalcino hill. The clusters reached the day of picking...

2015, for the Leone rosso wine, is a roaring year

Leone Rosso: 5 star harvest that many consider identical to 2010 because of the exceptional quality of the grapes and because of the similarity in the climate.

Leone Rosso 2015 veraison-August 4th

In both years the rainy winter was followed by a very hot July and a warm August. The only big difference between these two great vintages is in the quantity of the grapes picked: in 2010 because of the spring showers that disturbed the flowering.

The cool September with cold nights and sunny days brought to a well balanced ripening of the grapes so that the concentration of the sugars and acids proceeded at the same pace with the noble substances – polyphenols – as in the skins.

The DOC Orcia denomination to which the Leone Rosso wine belongs was born on

Leone Rosso 2015 Fattoria del Colle

February 14th 2000 and is produced in 13 municipalities between the areas producing Brunello di Montalcino  and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

Leon Rosso is born at Fattoria del Colle an estate that covers 335 hectares at 404 m above sea level on the crest of hills that face the Crete Senesi. The soil is made up prevalently of sands and sea clays. The vineyards are cultivated according to the organic regime, mainly by hand and with great care.

The name of the wine comes from the Socini blazon, these were ancestors of the present owner, Donatella Cinelli Colombini, and built the estate in 1592.This was them confiscated shortly after because they were members of the protestant reform- Fattoria del Colle was bought back for the family in by Donatella’s great grandfather in 1919, and shehas been running it since 1998..

November 4-8, Merano Wein Festival

In the most exclusive wine tasting in Italy we too will be present with 5 awarded wines among which the two Brunello 2012 previews, each with a gold medal

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini 

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Merano Wine Festival for the last 25 years has been the appointment not to be missed for those who work with or love high quality wines, because those invited to participate are only the best wineries and the best wines. The organizer Helmuth Köcher was born in Merano, he has a degree in Political Sciences taken in  Innsbruck, he often wears black and has a strong personality; he is practically a myth for his unlimited competence regarding wine and food excellencies from all over the world.IT is he together with two friends who have created in 1992 the GourmetClub Alto Adige and the

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Merano WineFestival, first Italian event to accept only producers of high quality wines. Today next to the wines are served also oil, grappa and other foods, also from abroad and from 100 Italian high end gastronomy.

The Prime Donne conquer the  NY Wine Experience

Let me take you to the New York Wine Experience by Wine Spectator, this is the most exclusive wine tasting in the world, with the most important wineries in the world

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Montalcino, Casato Prime Donne

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Here one finds Champagne Salon, Chateaux Lafite Rothschild, Chateaux Margaux, Opus One, Chateau d’Yquem, Penfolds… myths from the wine world. IN their midst I feel so excited, like a child. To be invited to the Wine Experience has always been a dream of mine but I really thought it would never be possible, like winning an Oscar or the Nobel Prize. But I am here and after only 18 years from the birth of my wineries.

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Angelo Gaja, as always so kind, comes towards me in the Marriott Marquis hall where each producer has a table to pour their wine. He embraces me and says  <<they should have invited you sooner, you deserve this!>>. Among the producers are also Piero Antinori with Solaia and Lamberto Frescobaldi with Masseto but nobody gets the same reaction as a star like Angelo.

The French wineries have shipped all their wines in wooden cases and before the arrival of the guests they decant them. Noblesse oblige! There is a lot to be learned from them, but there are some Italian wineries that do the same, Sassicaia for example.