The Ardita vineyard is one of Montalcino‘s finest. Every year, in any climate, it produces perfect grapes with small clusters and berries and uniform ripening.

It was planted in 2002 at 225 meters above sea level in a Plio-Quaternary soil with a prevalence of clay and marine sand. It had a slow start and is still not very vigorous; in fact, it almost never requires green harvesting because it spontaneously produces about a kilo of grapes per plant.

Like all the world’s great vineyards, the Ardita vineyard requires very little attention; in other words, it “does everything itself” thanks to a particular terroir. Even in the cellar, the wine produced from the Ardita vineyard requires no human intervention because it is flawless; therefore, it simply needs to be carefully stored in the finest quality barrels.

For this reason, the tasters who choose Brunello Prime Donne through blind tastings of the estate’s entire production often prefer the powerful, velvety structure of the wine from the Ardita vineyard. In the past, they requested it be aged in barrels (15-20 hl), but now they are also fascinated by the character of 5-7 hectoliter tonneaux, especially when steam-bent.

THE 2021 VINTAGE IN MONTALCINO

The 2021 harvest will be remembered as the longest and most expensive because the grapes were selected bunch by bunch in the vineyards. Due to an Arctic current that swept across Europe at the end of April, a large portion of the buds were scorched by the frost, while those that were still closed opened late, several days later.…

L'articolo BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO PRIME DONNE 2021 ORGANIC AND SINGLE VINEYARD sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination 

Wine tourists flock to our wineries at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda from April to November, but the peak season is September and October. However, the wineries are open even in winter, though reservations are absolutely essential as the reception service is by request only.

The few visitors we do have have tangible advantages. They are pampered, and if they want to stay a few more minutes, they aren’t pressured by le next tourists.

IN JANUARY YOU CAN BE THE FIRST TO TASTE THE NEW BRUNELLO

For us Brunello producers, the new vintage begins on January 1st, so wine lovers who visit my cellars in the first month of the new year can sample and take home an exclusive new wine to offer to friends, since only a few journalists have already tasted it. Typically, at this stage, Brunello is still slightly closed, like any wine destined for long aging, but it has greater energy, offering a beautiful tasting experience for those who drink it.

FROM NOVEMBER TO JANUARY, NEW BARRELS ARRIVE IN THE CELLAR

The winter months are the time for racking. The old barrels leave the cellar and the new ones move in. It’s a bit like moving house!…

L'articolo WHAT A WINE TOURIST SEES IN MY WINERY IN WINTER sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

For many years, renowned Canadian critic Michael Godel has spent extensive periods in Montalcino. He has visited most of the Brunello wineries, tasting all their wines. He therefore has a deep knowledge of the places, the people, and the different Brunello production philosophies, including its evolution over time. Receiving a positive assessment from him is a great honour and a great satisfaction.

Donatella Cinelli Colombini was delighted to receive the stellar scores of 96, 95, 95, 94, and 93 awarded by Godel to five of her Brunellos. These wines are produced at  Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino  on the northern slope of the Montalcino hill, where the clay-rich soil is cooler and creates ideal conditions for the gradual ripening of the grapes.

96/100 BRUNELLO IOsonoDonatella 2019

Michael Godel is charmed by this wine and its history, and he takes the time to explain it.

<<A name that means “I am what I am,” but also a sort of word game that says “we know how to do things, and this is our way of being.” Medieval studies of gold and enamels inspire the label of this unique Sangiovese, also produced in the 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016 vintages.>>

Godel describes the taste of this small selection created by Donatella Cinelli Colombini in her image and likeness: “Exaggerated richness and elegance, with balsamic notes and a refined elegance at the highest level of a Sangiovese.”…

L'articolo MICHAEL GODEL’S EXCELLENT RATINGS sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Rejuvenate amidst landscapes shaped by man over the centuries, at the time of year when the Sangiovese vineyards turn to a golden splendour on the hills. It’s the season of the white truffle of the Crete Senesi, known for its extraordinary elegance, rivalling that of Alba. It is also season of freshly produced EVO oil, which at Fattoria del Colle is diversified into five varieties, one of which is preserved in antique terracotta jars. It’s the season when you can already preview the future 2021 Brunello. Click here for more info

3 UNFORGETTABLE WEEKENDS WITH TRUFFLES WITH AN INCREDIBLE AROMA  AND GREAT WINES

The first 3 weekends of November, coinciding with the Crete Senesi White Truffle Market.
Stays take place at Fattoria del Colle, a hamlet-like property built in 1592 around the villa where Donatella Cinelli Colombini still lives today. The villa will open its historic rooms for a guided tour.

The apartments and guest rooms retain much of their original furnishings and floors. Sleeping here will feel like staying in your Tuscan grandparents’ home.

The program unfolds over two or three days and is full of surprises and unique moments.

Of course, there’s truffle hunting in the woods with dogs, so you’ll need to bring wellies or rain boots, as well as a hooded windbreaker.…

L'articolo UNMISSABLE APPOINTMENT WITH WHITE TRUFFLES AND FINE RED WINES sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Fattoria del Colle is a very small hamlet built at the end of the sixteenth century on a hill overlooking the Val d’Orcia and the Crete Senesi. It is waiting for Easter for lovers of Brunello, traditional Tuscan cuisine, old local traditions, views and nature.

A UNIQUE PLACE WITH A LONG HISTORY AND ENCHANTING VIEWS

A setting of ORGANIC vineyards and olive groves, beyond which there is a landscape of wonderful harmony dotted with cities of art and abbeys. Places of great spirituality such as Monte Oliveto Maggiore just 11 km away.

For the Easter weekend, Fattoria del Colle offers an intense program of three visits with experiences and tastings,

gourmand lunches, brief cooking lessons, two toasts and of course itineraries in the woods, relaxing stops to enjoy the wonderful landscape in the silence of nature.

For great wine lovers there is an extraordinary tasting of three 5-star vintages of Brunello 2013, 2015 and 2019 in the section Prime Donne and Riserva versions.

The tastings continue at the table with creative and highly traditional recipes combined with Brunello, Chianti Superiore Supertuscan and Doc Orcia wines. The Fattoria del Colle restaurant is a romantic, refined but informal place to make everyone feel welcomed and pampered.

SPECIAL PROPOSALS WITH WELLNESS AND BRUNELLO TASTING

Those who want to regenerate their skin, as well as their palate and mind, can have personalized massages and vinotherapy, even as a couple, in the natural wellness area.…

L'articolo EASTER 2025 IN TUSCANY IN TUSCANY IN FULL SPRING sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Donatella Cinelli Colombini has known Monica Larner for many years, they have different ideas but they respect each other and above all they are fond of each other. This is why Donatella cried reading what Monica wrote about her husband Carlo in Wine Advocate –Robert Parker. She felt understood and embraced with affection. << I don’t remember having met Donatella without the super supportive Carlo right there at her side. They were a strong couple who were on an equal footing>>.

This is perhaps the most important thing for a producer: feeling understood in his or her deepest life choices.

Just as Monica Larner’s appreciation for choices such as the “late-vintage release” Brunello 2018 is important, a late

release that is becoming more and more frequent in the wineries in Montalcino as well as in Barolo and Barbaresco to test the aging ability of their wine.

95 WINE ADVOCATE – ROBERT PARKER POINTS FOR BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG RISERVA 2019

The style of this wine is closer to Monica’s taste << rich and powerful with a little extra concentration and oomph to keep you warm on a cold winter night…. The tannins are velvety and the wine remains sufficiently structured throughout>>

94 POINTS FOR BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG PRIME DONNE PROJECT 2020

From Larner’s words, the extreme attention in evaluating every aspect of the wine is very clear, the small series, the origin of the organic grapes from a single vineyard and then the differences with the other Brunello 2020 by Donatella Cinelli Colombini <<it has a slightly darker character with more savoury tones than the already tasted classic Brunello of the same vintage….…

L'articolo 95,94, 94,93 STELLAR RATINGS BY WINE ADVOCATE FOR DCC’S BRUNELLOS sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

James Suckling loves Brunello and its producers very much. He is an honorary citizen of Montalcino and always has gestures of great friendship towards local wine makers. This year too he invited 60 producers to the party held in his Tuscan residence which was also attended by Violante Gardini Cinelli Colombini.

One of the things that has distinguished Suckling for many years is the desire to beat other critics to the punch and publish reviews first. Obviously, this has created emulation and the tastings of the tasters have been brought forward more and more compared to the date of release on the market of the new vintage which takes place on January 1st.

AMES SUCKLING AND BRUNELLO

Suckling speaks perfect Italian and lives between Italy, the United States, his native country,  and China where he has a beautiful wine shop. He organizes events in Asia and America attended by collectors of fine wines and wealthy wine lovers. Suckling is among the critics with the greatest international reputation and among the most active on social media (almost 400,000 followers on Instagram). Refined, very expert, hospitable and very active, James is attracted by everything that is exclusive and prestigious. His predilection is for wines of an imposing and sumptuous style.

Together with Aldo Fiordelli, his senior editor, James Suckling tasted 230 Brunellos from the 2020 vintage, giving a very positive opinion, as of a vintage reminiscent of the splendid 2015.…

L'articolo BRUNELLO 2020 JAMES SUCKLING 93/100 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by #donatellacinellicolombini

For the first time, in many years, the ripening of the grapes was what winemakers dream of: the ripening of the pulp of the grapes (technological) and that of the skins (polyphenolic) occurred simultaneously and completely.

Average 13% alcohol, lignified seeds, small berries and bunches, good content of noble substances, acidity and PH just below perfection… And lots of grapes.

At the beginning of September no one was hoping for such a spectacular result, in fact everyone was pessimistic because the weather forecast was terrible.

CHRONICLE OF THE 2024 HARVEST: FROM PESSIMISM TO JOY

After 60 days of scorching temperatures in July and August, with temperatures of 37°C during the day and 22 at night, the vines are still. Veraison is slow and ripening does not seem to progress. Then the weather changes suddenly and a very rainy month begins: from early September to early October, around 200 mm of rain falls. It’s cold and at night the thermometer drops to 10°C.

Managing a climate of this kind is very difficult: you need a team of very good agronomists, grape growers and oenologists, excellent harvesting technology and a pinch of luck. We have all this and in fact we produce an amazing harvest.

We are lucky to have the vineyards full of small bunches, open with small grapes with thick and hard skins and therefore capable of resisting the rain.…

L'articolo BRUNELLO HARVEST 2024, A MASTERPIECE sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Have you wondered what makes the white truffle of Alba and that of the Crete Senesi so valuable? Both are born in the territories where great red wines are made: Barolo and Brunello. Both contain very little garlic aroma. In the sixteenth century the white truffle was called “garlic of the rich” due to its acute component which, however, in the most prized types, is very delicate. A character perceivable both on the nose and in the mouth, where the taste is more harmonious, almost “honey-like”.

Obviously, the quality of the white truffle is at its peak immediately after its extraction from the ground and rapidly decreases as the days pass. This is why true truffle lovers come to eat it in the place of production and want it freshly “dug out”. In 2024 the summer was very hot and low in rainfall, this reduced the production of white truffles which will therefore be rare and (I fear) expensive. Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy this exclusive and delicious fruit of the earth, come and experience a truffle weekend in Tuscany, at Fattoria del Colle.

WHERE THE 2024 TRUFFLE WEEKENDS WILL TAKE PLACE

The weekend takes place in Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s two companies: Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda and Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino where the Brunello winery is located.…

L'articolo NOVEMBER WEEKEND WITH WHITE TRUFFLE AND GREAT TUSCAN WINES sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Maria Canabal, the passionate woman of wine and food, becomes the Prima Donna in Montalcino on September 14^th 2024 with the Casato Prime Donne award ceremony.

A charismatic character from the female universe, she founded the Parabere Forum which every year brings together 400 women in food and wine from all over the world to create empowerment. In 2015 Maria Canabal was recognized among the “Most Influential Women in Gastronomy” and her cookbooks were awarded the Gourmand Cookbooks Awards as “Best in the World”.

Together with her, the journalistic sections of the Casato Prime Donne Award, were won by the journalists of two of the major national oenology portals:  Alessandro Regoli and Irene Chiari of “WineNews“, Loredana Sottile and Gianluca Atzeni of “Trebicchieri” the economic weekly by Gambero Rosso. Together with them, the “Jury Prize” went to Linea Verde, the historic RAI 1 program, for the episode dedicated to the Jewels of Terra di Siena. This last prize will be donated to charity.

THE QUOTE TO MONTALCINO BY MARIA CANABAL, PASSIONATE ABOUT WOMEN, WINE AND FOOD

The jury composed of: Donatella Cinelli Colombini (President), Rosy Bindi, Anselma Dell’Olio, Anna Pesenti, Stefania Rossini, Anna Scafuri, Daniela Viglione and the Honorary Jury with Silvio Franceschelli Mayor of Montalcino and Fabrizio Bindocci President of the Brunello Consortium, wanted to dedicate the 2023 edition to Francesca Colombini Cinelli who founded the award and passed away in December 2022.…

L'articolo MONTALCINO SEPTEMBER 14TH CASATO PRIME DONNE AWARD 2024 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

In the land of Brunello, Chianti Superiore and Doc Orcia for an experience that lovers of Sangiovese and great Tuscan wines cannot miss.

Four days full of different and interesting experiences in the vineyards, in the cellar and in the tasting room. At the end, participants will receive a certificate demonstrating their growth in knowledge of the great Sangiovese-based Tuscan wines.

THE TOURIST HARVEST AS A FUN AND EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

It doesn’t matter if you are an expert, the program will be fun and capable of interesting both great wine lovers and beginners.

Participants will stay at Fattoria del Colle, a small hamlet with 400 years of history. There are apartments and rooms, 3 swimming pools, a restaurant and of course the winery. Surrounding is a wonderful landscape of vineyards and olive groves. In addition to this farm Donatella Cinelli Colombini owns Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino with the vineyards and cellar that produce Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino. Donatella’s wines are produced in small exclusive series, exported to 44 countries and ten of them have been awarded scores above 90/100 in the international press.

TASTING THE GRAPES, THE MUST AND THEN THE WINE

The 2024 tourist harvest program includes tasting the grapes to learn the level of ripeness and the days left until harvesting.…

L'articolo TOURIST HARVEST 2024 WITH TASTINGS, EXPERIENCES AND DINNERS sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

We have always known that wine is not enough to generate wine tourism flows. We need a suggestive landscape, typical gastronomy and the presence of people with whom we can establish a relationship. More recently, with the exponential increase in tourist wineries (25,000), the most critical element is the proposal of experiences that are too similar to each other. In 96% of wineries, visitors visit the vat room and barrel room with an explanation of the production process followed by a tasting. It is only the size and importance of the latter that varies. This is why Roberta Garibaldi tells us that 66% of visitors think that the experiences in the cellar are all similar and there is a real risk that they will get bored.

But offering different experiences capable of teaching while having fun is possible, Donatella Cinelli Colombini shows us how.

TAILORED EXPERIENCES FOR EVERY TYPE OF WINE TOURIST

Identity, authenticity and diversity are the three key words. Donatella Cinelli Colombini invites you to her wineries at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in the Orcia DOC region to participate in unique and memorable experiences designed for different visitor targets. In Montalcino it is possible to have an itinerant wine and music tasting with 4 stops paired with different wines and different music – from Monteverdi to Frank Zappa.…

L'articolo WINE TOURISM DOES NOT REGARD ONLY WINE sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI PRESENTS YOU  WITH A SMALL SERIES OF BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2018 FROM CASATO PRIME DONNE OF GREAT QUALITY AND WITH AGING POTENTIAL

In 2018 a small quantity of grapes and then of wine was jealously kept separate from the rest in 4 5-7hl French oak tonneaus and finally also in a 15hl barrel, until it was bottled on its own.

The refinement in the bottle made the superior quality to the rest of the 2018 “vintage” Brunello even more evident.

This is why Donatella Cinelli Colombini and her daughter Violante have decided to emphasize the exceptional nature of this Super Brunello, born as an “experiment” and that has become a small jewel of only 3000 bottles for enthusiasts looking for exclusivity to drink

HOW DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE FROM THE BRUNELLO 2018 VINTAGE?

To distinguish it on the label, a golden stripe has been inserted on the base. These bottles will be numbered, wrapped one by one and marketed mainly in wooden crates. The price increase is minimal and only serves to highlight the difference.

THE 2018 HARVEST

2018 was different from the very hot years of recent years. The summer was cool, interrupted by storms and the best grapes were harvested last, as used to happen thirty years ago.…

L'articolo ONLY FOR THE CLUB: ORGANIC BRUNELLO 2018 “LATE VINTAGE RELEASE” sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

When spring covers the Tuscan hills with a green blanket, walks have an extraordinary regenerating capacity. They call it landscape therapy and it is an antidote to the stress of our time.

This is especially true in places that keep their past intact, such as Fattoria del Colle, surrounded by the most beautiful countryside in the world, partly inscribed in the UNESCO heritage list precisely for its historicity and harmony: the Val d’Orcia and the Crete Senesi .

Added to this is the organic cultivation of the entire Colle farm (336 hectares) which allows you to walk, stop and collect herbs to eat in a preserved and respected nature. Last, but not least, the two cellars for the production of Premium wines intended for exclusive customers in 44 foreign markets: Brunello, Chianti Superiore, Orcia and Supertuscan. The visit to the production sites and the tasting, but also the pairing with delicious traditional dishes, in the Fattoria del Colle restaurant, complete a weekend dedicated to tradition and nature.

FORAGING AND EXPERIENCES IN THE WINERY AND WITH WINE

The highlight of this weekend is FORAGING. A walk that lasts an hour and a half in the fields and woods, with an

environmental guide who explains the properties and legends of the Tuscan wild herbs who helps to collect them in the vegetable garden and then a picnic in the park of the old oil mill based on “cacio e baccelli” fresh pecorino and fava beans, bruschetta or panzanella accompanied by the new IGT Toscana Bianco Sanchimento 2023.…

L'articolo GREEN WEEKEND WITH FORAGING AND BRUNELLO sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

LCBO, a monopoly of the state of Ontario, is one of the most important buyers in the world, with very large stores in Toronto and other cities. In March 2024 it puts the spotlight on the women of wine, spirits and beer. Celebrating their talent and stories

THE CASATO PRIME DONNE WINERY IS A SYMBOL OF FOR WINE IN THE WINE WORLD

In the LCBO newspaper there is a photo of Donatella and Violante and the story of the first Italian winery, with an entirely female staff. The episode that marks the birth of Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino dates back to 1998, when her parents entrusted Donatella with two portions of the family properties, in which to give birth to her new project and, they gifted her  a small quantity of Brunello in barrels, to allow her to start her own commercial network.

For her, this wine was very important and so to take care of it Donatella needed an oenologist, so she called the oenology school in Siena, asking for the name of a good student to hire. They tell her no, there is a lot of demand and wine technicians must be booked years in advance. But when she asks for a female cellar manager the answer is different, they have a whole list because good cellars don’t want female managers.…

L'articolo THE CANADIAN MONOPOLY LCBO CELEBRATES WOMEN WITH BRUNELLO sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

A unique opportunity for true wine lovers who want to receive 3 premium wines to open for important occasions and to serve with delicious dishes, or to organize a nice tasting with 3 vintages compared.

The Brunello di Montalcino Riserva by Donatella Cinelli Colombini is a great wine (100% Sangiovese) extremely balanced and fine, which comes from a small vineyard at Casato Prime Donne di Montalcino, the first winery in Italy with an all-female staff.

Together with the bottles you will find a small gift: a personalized apron from the Donatella Cinelli Colombini winery.

OFFER FOR DONATELLA’S CLUB MEMBERS

2 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2013

2 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2015

2 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2016

And

1 apron with the Casato Prime Donne logo

DURATION OF THE OFFER

The offer ends on 06 October 2023

PRICE

395.00 Euros (instead of 462.00 Euros)

15 Euro discount on shipping

For those who want to double by buying 4 bottles of each Riserva the price is even more convenient

Euro 764.00 (instead of Euro 918.00.)

Always with a 15 Euro discount on shipping

OFFER FOR ALL OTHER WINE LOVERS

2 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2013

2 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2015

2 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2016

And

1 apron with the Casato Prime Donne logo

PRICE

425.00 Euros (instead of 462 Euros)

15 Euro discount on shipping

For those who want to double by buying 4 bottles of each Riserva the price is even more convenient

Euro 823.00 (instead of Euro 918.00)

Always with a 15 Euro discount on shipping

HOW TO ORDER AND BUY THIS OFFER WITH ONE CLICK

Order now on our online shop and the wine will be delivered directly to your home!…

L'articolo OFFER: VERTICAL OF 3 TOP BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

The 2023 edition of the Casato Prime Donne Award, scheduled for September 16^TH , was dedicated to Francesca Colombini Cinelli, whom I would like to remember here with you.

The initiative was born with the name Premio Barbi Colombini thanks to my mother, in 1981, to bring the interest of the press on Montalcino and Brunello, but also to create new contacts, in the belief that the relationship with great cultural personalities would open minds and would stimulate new energy in the whole territory.

Over the years it has given a boost to the growth of Montalcino and, in 1999, the Award was transformed into a promoter of female talent,  and since last year it has added to its previous activity that of incubator of young talents.

FRANCESCA COLOMBINI CINELLI

My mother Francesca was involved in the award activity until the years of the pandemic, when her health began to falter. However, her main activity was entrepreneurial, first alongside her father Giovanni Colombini and, since 1976, alone. A woman in an almost exclusively male world of wine in which she was well aware of being an exception, as she explains in an article in the “Corriere vinicolo” in 1988 <<the situation of women is less bright in the world of wine or at least in that part of it where the leading companies, in terms of quantity and quality, are located>>.…

L'articolo CASATO PRIME DONNE AWARD POSTPONED sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

To rest, get a tan but also to discover masterpieces of art, play sports in the midst of breathtaking views, see where Brunello and extra virgin olive oil are born

Until fifty years ago they called it a “holiday” and it was a period of leisure and rest that lasted over a month.

Today we’re talking about short breaks of 3 days or a week because our lifestyle forces us to hurry even while on vacation. But the need to regenerate is even stronger than before. To get out of everyday life, from the wear and tear of stress, here is a real Tuscan farm, Fattoria del Colle,  which has remained intact for over 4 centuries and is surrounded by a wonderful landscape and BIO – Organic cultures for oil, wine and crops.

FATTORIA DEL COLLE A MIRACULOUSLY INTACT SMALL HAMLET WHERE TO SPEND YOUR HOLIDAYS

Apartments and rooms with bathroom that look just like the houses of Tuscan grandparents and combine the comfort of modern sofas with the intimacy of authentic antique furniture. There are 3 swimming pools, restaurant and banquet hall, natural wellness area with sauna, Turkish bath, wine bath, couple’s massage room. And then 3 parks equipped with night lighting, 4 trekking routes, a photography safari, above all a weekly program with at least one experience every day: pinci lesson (fresh Sienese pasta), tasting of extra virgin olive oil of different cultivars, archery in the woods, guided tours with tastings in the Brunello and Chianti-Doc Orcia cellars.…

L'articolo FARM HOLIDAYS IN TUSCANY sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

When a wine producer sees his work rewarded by the judgment of great experts and the market, it is always a great joy and Donatella has many of these moments. Here you will find the description of her Brunellos by two super Canadian journalists. They tasted Brunello 2018 as a preview in November at the event organized by the Consortium. The ratings are excellent, 94/100 and 94/100, and the descriptions are wonderful.

Below follows the presentation of the Brunello Riserva 2016 by the LCBO, the very powerful Ontario monopoly based in Toronto.

And finally, the 91 points for Cenerentola Doc Orcia 2018 from Falstaff which, with its 144,000 copies, is the largest German-language food and wine magazine.

94 and 94 ratings for BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2018 DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI

MICHAEL GODEL ON BRUNELLO 2018

It is a long-awaited harvest for the cellars on the northern part of Montalcino because after some formidable vintages this one that stands out for its grace . The reality is just exactly that, warmth and exceptional liquidity. Everything works and works wonderfully. A multifaceted expressiveness, perfumes, concentration, integration and if there is wood (and there is some) you do not notice it. Everything plays and works authentically, with kindness and honesty. Clarity is above average.…

L'articolo RATINGS REWARD BRUNELLO AND THE DOC ORCIA sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s county inn is different from all the others and offers unique experiences. You’ll wonder what makes it so special. Great red wines with international recognition are born there, it has 430 years of noble history behind it and allows tourists to live inside this history, to eat it, to smell it, to touch it …. All of this with the frame of panoramas that have remained intact over the centuries and of an ORGANIC  BIO nature in which to walk among olive groves, vineyards and woods.

For this reason, spending the long Easter weekend at Fattoria del Colle regenerates the body and mind even if perhaps it leads to a few interruptions in the diet and a few more during the tastings of Brunello. But if you are a wine lover, do not miss the opportunity because a tasting of 6 wines from the barrel and of  5-star Brunellos does not happen easily.

THE EASTER 2023 BANK HOLIDAY PROGRAM

• Overnight stay in double room or apartment
• Buffet breakfast with homemade cakes and biscuits, cold cuts and cheese, omelette and pinzimoni, hot drinks
• Use of parks and hiking trails
• Guided tour of the historic rooms of the Fattoria del Colle (16th century kitchen, armorial hall, billiard room, chapel, Italian garden) with tasting of 2 Orcia Doc wines and 3 extra virgin olive oils
•  Casato Prime Donne winery in Montalcino – guided tour with a wine and music  experience, including the barrel ageing cellar and the new fermentation cellar- with an itinerant tasting of 4 wines including Brunello
• Guided tour on the theme “Wine, vineyard and video” in the cellars of the Fattoria del Colle including the area for refining the sparkling wine and the room that teaches how to listen to the vineyards.

…

L'articolo EASTER IN TUSCANY AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

WHO IS JAMES SUCKLING

He was born in Los Angeles in 1959 and lives between his home in Borro (Arezzo) and Hong King but is also an honorary citizen of Montalcino.
After his studies in political science and journalism at the Universities of Wisconsin and Utah he began to write and from 1981 for the new born magazine Wine Spectator. In 1984, he followed his passion for wine by making his first trip to Europe and the following year he became the European correspondent of the Wine Spectator, a role he held until 2010.
Subsequently his activity as a taster continued with an online magazine that bears his name and that organizes splendid events all over the world. He was among the first to understand the potential of digital communication and is on the podium as one of the strongest wine influencers in the world.
Suckling is internationally regarded as one of the most knowledgeable and influential critics for wine and vintage cigars. His sophisticated style is known in life as in tastings. For example, Suckling has always tasted only with his glasses and now uses a line of crystal goblets created especially for him.

He is passionate about Italian wine and in particular Tuscan wines, he played a decisive role in the success of our enology in the USA.…

L'articolo 94 and 93 points for the Brunello 2018 by Donatella sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

A great Brunello born in an “old-style” harvest.

The BIO rules do not allow the use of systemic chemicals and in 2018, a very rainy year, the winemakers of Casato Prime Donne had to work hard and very promptly to defend the vines from powdery mildew and downy mildew, but they succeeded.

THE 2018 VINTAGE IN THE BRUNELLO VINEYARDS

An “old-fashioned” vintage with a cold and rainy summer, very slow ripening and harvest on the normal dates of late September.

Very rainy winter and spring (16 rainy days in January, 16 in February, 20 in March, 11 in April and 18 in May). Summer alternated with peaks of heat and thunderstorms. In September, the sunny days and cold nights allowed a slow and gradual ripening of the grapes with a progressive decrease in the size of the berries and an excellent synthesis of aromas.

HARVEST AND VINIFICATION OF THE BRUNELLO PRIME DONNE 2018

Faithful to its “old-fashioned” character, the 2018 vintage also had a harvest similar to those of our grandparents, with the best grapes harvested last, and we divided the vineyards into many small portions that were vinified separately in many small 50 hl vats in bare concrete. Even the vinification was “old fashioned” with higher temperatures than usual especially at the end.…

L'articolo Brunello Prime Donne 2018 BIO sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

“The old vines do not make grapes” say many producers and so they uproot it. But it is a mistake. By doing so, they will never produce excellent wines and there is also a way to keep them well. The more the years pass, the more failures increase and the more problems arise related to viruses, damage caused by cultivation tools or neglect in maintaining structures, or errors in soil management. This is especially true for those who use chemicals that reduce the vitality of the earth or heavy tools that compact the soil and asphyxiate the roots. Practices that push the root system of the vines upwards also have similar effects, making them vulnerable to water stress.

MAINTENANCE AND RESTORATION OF THE OLD VINEYARDS

The maintenance and restoration of the old vineyards have been studied by Alberto Palliotti and Lucia Giordano, from the University of Perugia who have published an interesting article on VVQ Vigne, Vini e Qualità. Losing a bud per plant in a vineyard with a density of 5,000 vines means having 0,7 to 1,7 tons of grapes less. And that is a lot.
However, to produce excellent wines it is essential to have adult vineyards and therefore the problem of maintaining them over time must be taken very seriously.…

L'articolo When the vineyard doesn’t make grapes sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

It is wonderful to see your wines in the Wine Spectator Insider. A weekly preview of Wine Spectator that reaches wine lovers and collectors from all over the world. It is like seeing your jewel in the Cartier window on Place Vendome in Paris, that is, in the city of fashion and in the most visible spot for the most glamorous millionaires.
There are two 2017 Brunellos made by Donatella Cinelli Colombini in the Wine Spectator Insider and both with 93/100. Excellent result that our USA Importer immediately relaunched on social networks.

BRUCE SANDERSON’S DESCRIPTION OF THE 2017 VINTAGE OF BRUNELLO

Bruce Sanderson’s description of the 2017 harvest is masterful in terms of synthesis and effectiveness  << The winter was mild and rainy until March, when temperatures increased, leading to an early bud break. In mid-April, a frost occurred which caused some damage. However, the biggest impact was the drought from May to August, with high temperatures in July and August…. The rain in mid-September refreshed the vines and revived the grapes>>.
The description of the harvest highlights the different dynamics in the southern part of Montalcino  where the harvest began in early September and in the northern area, where the Casato Prime Donne is located,  grapes were picked 3 weeks later with lower temperatures.

Overall a harvest scarce in quantity which favoured the old vineyards and those who carefully selected the grapes by eliminating the ruined grapes.…

L'articolo 93 and 93/100 to the two 2017 Brunellos 2017 by WS sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

It is always a great pleasure to receive positive reviews regarding one’s wines and when there are many it is truly a feast. Wineries generally notice that a good rating has been published thanks to the arrival of orders. In this case, Violante Cinelli Colombini, sales manager, received a substantial booking from Canada and shortly after another from the USA, “a good score must have come out”, she said with a smile. Shortly after she read the good news on the Wine Advocate-Robert Parker website: 95+ for Brunello Riserva 2016. 94/100 for Brunello 2017 “Prime Donne”. 93/100 for Brunello 2017 and a nice 90/100 at Rosso di Montalcino 2019. This latter is perhaps the most spectacular result because it concerns a wine that is not part of the Montalcino oenological Olympus but rather part of the younger and less expensive ranks.

All these wines come from Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s cellar in Montalcino, Casato Prime Donne which has been certified BIO since 2018.

Let’s see one by one the reviews and descriptions written by the talented Monica Larner, editor for Italian wines of Wine Advocate – Robert Parker and an excellent journalist with an exploratory nature.

95+ BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA 2016

Silky and refined, it also shows the power and intensity that characterize the climate of this classic vintage.…

L'articolo ROBERT PARKER WINE ADVOCATE 95+, 94 & 93 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Fattoria del Colle reopens its doors for Easter. In the splendid scenery of the most intact Tuscany, where the great red wines for ageing are born, tourists will be able to live four days full of engaging and exciting experiences. Returning home, they will discover that they have learned so much about the history, the wines – Brunello, Orcia, Chianti Superiore, Supertuscan – the foods and even the traditional herbs of Tuscany.

EASTER 2022 AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE

The long Easter weekend – from Good Friday to Easter Monday – allows you to regenerate with “landscape therapy” BIO -organic vineyards and olive groves, three equipped parks, paths where you can go trekking or stop to enjoy views of extraordinary beauty.

The Fattoria del Colle is like a small rural hamlet with a chapel and a villa built in the 16th century surrounded by farmhouses. They have been transformed into apartments and rooms for tourists while maintaining the intimacy of the past thanks to the furnishings of authentic local antiques.
There is a restaurant, the old barn with the banquet hall, the cooking school and the natural wellness area where wellness lovers can enjoy massages and wine therapy for couples.

A PROGRAM FULL OF UNUSUAL AND INTERESTING EXPERIENCES DEDICATED TO WINE

The real strength is the wine produced in the cellar at Fattoria del Colle and in Montalcino at Casato Prime Donne.…

L'articolo Fattoria del Colle is waiting for you for Easter 2022 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Getting married in Tuscany, among the Chianti and Orcia DOC organic vineyards, in the “most beautiful wine in the world”. In front of the wonderful landscape of the Crete Senesi and Valdorcia. It looks like a movie, but instead it’s reality.

In a 16th century farm that has remained intact over time, with historic gardens, monumental halls, winery and restaurant. Almost a small rural hamlet where the old farmhouses have been transformed into rooms and apartments for tourists (106 beds) and are furnished with authentic antiques that transmit warmth and intimacy.

WEDDING AMONG THE VINEYARDS FOR THOSE WHO LOVE NATURE, HISTORY AND FINE WINES

The wedding at Fattoria del Colle is for those who love nature and fine wines. For those who want  a romantic and Tuscan-style wedding party. For those who want  something elegant and informal at the same time,  where everyone is comfortable.

For those who love the taste of typical cuisine but also refined things and then want to dance, go wild or let themselves be lulled by the magic of summer nights in the countryside ….
In the summer of 2022 some midweek dates are still available while the 2023 calendar is almost entirely empty. Obviously the weddings organized from Monday to Thursday have the advantage of a lower cost (10% or more off both the party and overnight stays).…

L'articolo Wedding among the Tuscan vineyards sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

There is a magic, a mystery, a beauty … in nature, which must be understood and enhanced. In 2016 in the vineyards at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino one of these wonders took place in the Sangiovese grapes for Brunello.

THE MAGIC OF THE BRUNELLO 2016 BORN FROM A LONG VEGETATION CYCLE

Every year, to produce grapes, the vine performs a vegetative cycle similar to the pregnancy that gives birth to babies.
For women it lasts nine months, for the vine six.
Two months from budding to flowering, two months from flowering to veraison, which means to the change of colour of the clusters and the last two months until harvest.
With climate change when it is very hot the budding takes place, often, 15 days sooner and therefore also the harvest generally takes place in advance compared to the traditional calendar.
Instead, in 2016, the vegetative cycle, so the pregnancy of the grapes began early and ended late because in the last phase the climate slowed down the ripening.

This has created an authentic masterpiece in the vineyards at Casato Prime Donne. The perfect grapes that produced a very elegant and satisfying Brunello, silky like very thick velvet, deep and able to defy time.

CASATO PRIME DONNE IN MONTALCINO

Casato Prime Donne is a property of 40 hectares of which almost half are vineyards of Sangiovese variety.…

L'articolo BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA 2016 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

The Brunello di Montalcino 2015 Riserva is a fine red apt for long cellaring that can be stored for decades for an important occasion but also opened now to match with the Thanksgiving roasted turkey. Its velvety, powerful and refined character transforms autumn lunches into special occasions to always be remembered.

DON’T MISS THE OCCASION TO CELEBRATE WITH A FINE WELL-RATED WINE BY THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

The Brunello Riserva 2015 has obtained exceptional rankings from the major international wine critics:
95 Wine Spectator
94 Wine Advocate – Robert Parker
94 Vinous – Antonio Galloni

93 James Suckling
92 Wine Enthusiast

A SMALL PRESENT FOR THOSE WHO WILL BE TRAVELLING BY PLANE AND WANT TO TAKE A BRUNELLO WITH THEM TO CELEBRATE

Together with the 6 bottles of this wine, we will put into the case a wineskin, a sealed bubble wrap sachet that permits travelling with the bottles in your suitcase during flights, protecting them from damage and saving your clothes in case your suitcase is really badly treated.

FOR THE MEMBERS OF DONATELLA’S CLUB 6 BOTT. BRUNELLO 2015 RISERVA – WINE CELEBRATION BOX

Offer for Memebers 378,00 Euro (instead of 450,00 Euro)

For Club members who wish to double the order the deal is even better: 12 bottles of Brunello 2015 Riserva 736,00 Euro (instead of 900,00 Euro)

The price includes free shipping in Italy or 15 Euro discount for shippings abroad together with 1 wineskin

FOR ALL OTHER CLIENTS 6 BOTT.

…

L'articolo TOP WINE FOR THANKSGIVING 2021 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

For years, vinifying a “single vineyard” has been a happy memory. The search for quality in grapes has become so maniacal that the harvest has become a patchwork that brings together small quantities of clusters of the same variety but with similar or completely opposite characteristics to balance each other.

<<Take the grapes from this corner, put them together with those from the vines from the central area of the vineyard next door and then move three parcels further on to take the rest to be vinified in the same vat>>. Barbara Magnani, the senior oenologist of my cellars, has the map of the harvest plan in her mobile phone so as not to miss the complicated collage.

HARVEST 2021- THE PATCHWORK HARVEST

They are all Sangiovese grapes from our vineyards. The new thing, compared to the past, is that they come from different areas and even from different sides of the espalier. The harvest has become similar to a treasure hunt where you use your mouth to select the grapes and the scales to weigh them in order to fill the vat in a single day exactly with the most homogeneous grapes.

In the end we realized that winemaking vats over 100 hl no longer serve us and we will have to sell them to fill the fermentation hall with many small containers with a capacities of 20, 30, 50 hl but not larger.…

L'articolo 2021 grape harvest collage sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

It’s always nice to read good reviews about your wines from super experts and when the label is in the Wine Spectator Insider it’s a real joy. This time it was the Brunello Riserva 2015 with a nice score of 95. Brunello 2016 and Brunello Prime Donne 2016 are on the inside pages of Wine Spectator, both with an excellent 94.

Brunello 2015 Riserva 95/100 WS, Brunello and Brunello Prime Donne 2016 94/100 WS

My choices in harvest, vinification and barrel ageing are based on the search for the purest original characteristics of Brunello. My Brunello is elegant not opulent. It is a current interpretation of Montalcino’s terroir although inspired by the Brunello of our grandparents.

There are those who fall in love with it and those who prefer a more muscular Brunello. That’s why I wait for the judgments of the US wine critics with great trepidation. Thankfully for vintages like 2015 and 2016 all agree. Tom Hyland (Italian wine report) who lives in Chicago but has been writing about Italian wines for over 20 years, and is considered among the best ambassadors of our oenology in the USA, has also given 93 to my Brunello 2016.

Brunello 2015 and 2016 two vintages liked by all

Both Hyland and Bruce Sanderson, who tastes for Wine Spectator, recommend drinking my Brunello in ten years time and beyond.…

L'articolo 95 points for Brunello Riserva 2015 from Insider Wine Spectator sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

On June 26^th, Donatella Cinelli Colombini will inaugurate the expansion and restoration of the Fattoria del Colle winery with the blessing of Bishop Stefano Manetti and a “déjeuner sur l’herbe”, for 150 people. Typical Valdorcian dishes will be served accompanied by Brunello, Orcia Doc, Chianti Superiore and Supertuscans. A country party according to the great Tuscan tradition to celebrate the conclusion of a project that allows to increase the quality of wines and transforms the Fattoria del Colle into a wine destination capable of attracting enthusiasts and offering them unforgettable experiences and tastings.

CENERENTOLA WINE UNDERGROUND CELLAR

The main creation is a large underground area intended for the refinement of bottled wines for which 3,366 mc of earth and rock (231 hours of jackhammer by the Edilpellegrini Company) have been moved. The project by architect Silvia Nucci, from the Studio Luigi Rocchi,included a single large room of 450m2 for the aging of bottled wine.

Here the temperature must remain at constant 16°C while in the area for sparkling wine it drops to 12°C.  It is in this area, separated by panels, that the pupitres have been placed for the manual remuage of the brut rosé classic method obtained from Sangiovese grapes.

A WINTER OAK WOOD TRANSFORMED INTO A CORTEN SILHOUETTE

Outside Donatella Cinelli Colombini asked the designers and artisans who worked at the construction site – all local -, to be inspired by what they saw around them.…

L'articolo Cenerentola wine underground cellar sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Two articles and two tastings to understand the evolution of Brunello, from a wine conceived to defy time to a wine that must associate longevity and youthful pleasantness. This is the passage from “Biondi Santi philosophy” to the new style in a large number of Montalcino producers.

THE TWENTIETH YEAR IS THE REVEALING ONE REGARDING LONGEVITY

Eric Guido, a super taster of Italian wines for Vinous, has tasted the Brunello 2001 explaining the reason behind such a choice <<So why twenty years? Why not ten or thirty? Because, in my opinion, it is the twenty-year mark that proves the potential of a Brunello vintage. At ten years, a classically structured vintage is still in its adolescent stages (think 2010). At thirty years, only the best wines will still be drinking well (think 1990). However, at twenty years, you can assess from a broad range of producers if the vintage is ready to drink now, drink soon, or continue to stash away in your cellar>>.

HOW THE BRUNELLO PHILISOPHY HAS CHANGED DURING THE LAST 20 YEARS

As has happened to me, during the last 20 years, many producers from Montalcino have gone through a great evolution. They have returned to a stronger rapport with the vineyard and to the use of larger barrels.…

L'articolo Brunello 2001 and 2004 retrospective tasting: just like with films sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

What binds theses two stories that tell of the true spirit of the Brunello town, is the Dopobarba della Tita (Tita’s aftershave) that the Farmacia Salvioni has created among its cosmetic production range, as it has been done for centuries in the old dispensaries, to dedicate it to their most faithful client.

It seems like something normal but instead the story contains an old and noble tale.

THE FARMACIA SALVIONI AND ITS HISTORY SINCE 1499

The Farmacia Salvioni is in the old market square in Montalcino next to the Loggia, where vases, copper objects, vegetables, chicken and grains were sold.

In 1499 in those 4 rooms used still today, Paolo Dei and Giacomo Marzuoli <<ilcinenses aromatarios in civitate ilcinea>>, were apothecaries, in other words pharmacists.

At the beginning of the 17th century the dispensary in the square changes hands it goes from the Tinelli family to the Angelini family and is active in the production of therapeutic preparations and of spices to cook with: pepper, almonds, isinglass …  but also cakes such as pan pepato, copate and biricoccoli.

At the beginning of the 18th century the pharmacy changes hands several times until it is donated to the Ospedale di S.…

L'articolo DOPOBARBA DELLA TITA FROM FARMACIA SALVIONI sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Upon receiving the message of congratulations from Violante and me he replies <<Dear friends, I know you have always believed strongly in me. This encourages me and makes me proud of the Tuscan and Italian entrepreneurial structure. It has been difficult, very difficult. I still cannot believe it … Thank you so much , G.>> Just a few words that transmit the great tension, still not assimilated, with respect to a trail that has been demanding more than expected and the subsequent great emotion. Practically under shock, for the success, chased for 5 years and that all of Italy has been waiting for, for at least thirty.

ITALIAN WINE EXPERTS WHO HAVE DIFFICULTY IN ESTABLISHING THEMSELVES BY REMAINING IN THEIR HOMELAND

It really seemed like a running joke, among the 418 Master of Wine there were wine experts from 32 nations but nobody from Italy. Practically a stamp of our wine provincialism manifested far too often: let us remember the embarrassing occasion of the tem contest for sommeliers on October 12th 2019 at the Castle of Chambord in France, where our team were last out of 27 nations taking part. Two times in a row this happened.

Our wine experts are technically very strong and when they go abroad they are like fireworks.…

L'articolo Gabriele Gorelli the first Italian Master of Wine sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

We need s good luck toast, and there is nothing better than the Brunello 2016 Prime Donne. As all wine lovers know Brunello becomes Brunello legally only at midnight of its last year. This time the new vintage to be realized has been anticipated by drum rolls and the great international wine critics have given it extraordinary ratings already before it gets released. So other than the character of the wine that brings good fortune, this time we are in admiration of a Brunello than can hopefully rid us of the dark shadow of Covid and allow us to have faith in a new year full hope.
So I will toast with Brunello Prime Donne 2016 wishing everyone health and happiness in the New Year.

THE END OF 2020 THE COVID YEAR

2020 is ending and it is time for considerations: except for my brother who was fortunately asymptomatic, none of us got covid19 in the family and on the estate.

The province of Siena has been one of the least hit by the pandemic but to protect ourselves we really have done our upmost; face masks, disinfectant gels , dry sanitizing guns, ozone instruments … rooms for quarantining pillows for the beds ….  Plexiglas panels, shifts in the offices ….…

L'articolo Happy New Year 2021 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Once you have received the wine at home you will also be able to taste  the two Brunello online with Donatella Cinelli Colombini. The date will be sent out as soon as the wine will have been delivered. It will be a very exclusive appointment during a weekend.

As you know Brunello becomes legally Brunello and can be consumed only after midnight at the end of its 5^th year. So what we are proposing now are not yet  Brunello and Brunello Riserva, they will become so on January 1st  2021 and you shall be among the first to taste them and share them with your friends. The will be delivered to your home with the vacuum stopper that keeps the wine till the next day.

Brunello brings god luck and it will make you begin 2021 like a true wine lover!

Happy New Year !!!!!

Obviously some wine critics have just recently tasted the wines and have given excellent reviews.

BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2016 RATINGS

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate                   95

Vinous Antonio Galloni                                93

James Suckling                                            94

BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA 2015 RATINGS

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate                  94

Vinous Antonio Galloni                              94

James Suckling                                        93

OFFER FOR MEMBERS OF DONATELLA’S CLUB

3 bottles of Brunello di Montalcino 2016 and 3 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2015 + a vacuum stopper

Price 329 Euro (instead of 367 Euro) until January 5th, 2021

For those who wish to double their offer to 6 bottles of Brunello 2016 and 6 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2015

Preice of 618 Euro (instead of 724 Euro) until January 5th, 2021

FREE SHIPPING IN ITALY AND A 20,00 Euro DISCOUNT ABROAD

OFFER FOR THOSE NOT YET MEMBERS OF DONATELLA’S CLUB

3 bottles of Brunello di Montalcino 2016 and 3 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2015 + a vacuum stopper

Price 341 Euro (instead of 367 Euro) until January 5th, 2021

For those who wish to double their offer to 6 bottles of Brunello 2016 and 6 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2015

Price 646 Euro (instead of 724 Euro) until January 5th, 2021

FREE SHIPPING IN ITALY AND A 20,00 Euro DISCOUNT ABROAD

For Italy the price includes shipping, for those ordering from abroad there is a 20,00 euro discount on transportation costs.…

L'articolo Just for you Brunello 2016 and Brunello Riserva 2015 previews sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

From Friday October 30th to Sunday November 1st, three days (two nights) during the foliage, white truffle and extra virgin olive oil period in Tuscany where Brunello and other fine red wines are made. To stay at Fattoria del Colle amidst the vineyards, to dine with local traditional dishes, to hunt for truffles with truffle hunters and their dogs and then learn how to prepare them. As well as visiting the vineyards and (partially) the wineries, taste the fine red wines and finally dine with the truffles, so aromatic and maybe even a little aphrodisiacal!

WHITE TRUFFLE WEEKEND PROPOSAL AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE

• 2 nights in double bedroom with bathroom at Fattoria del Colle
• 2 breakfasts with cold cuts, cheeses and traditional cakes, coffee, milk, juices and yogurt
• Hunting with truffle hunters and their dogs
• Brief cookery lesson on truffles with the Fattoria del Colle chef Doriana Marchi
• Guided tour of the vineyards and partial tour of the Brunello winery Casato Prime Donne with an informal wine tasting
• Guided tour of Fattoria del Colle with itinerant tasting of three wines

THE BEAUTY OF AUTUMN IN THE TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE

Autumn is the foliage moment, when the vineyards and the woods change colour transforming the Valdorcia and the Crete Senesi into a fairytale scenario: This is maybe the moment that the countryside is at its best.…

L'articolo WHITE TRUFFLE WEEKEND IN TUSCANY sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

It is always difficult to shine next to a great star: it will be difficult for those running 100 meters after Usain Bolt, it has been difficult for all mathematicians after Albert Einstein and it is difficult for all entrepreneurs comparing with Jeff Bezos from Amazon.

It will be the same for the 2020 vintage. It cannot shine after a masterpiece of a vintage like 2019 even though it is one of the best vintages picked during the last 20 years, without doubt worthy of the 5 stars given to the best vintages in Montalcino.

THE 2020 COVID GRAPE HARVEST

Let’s go in order, by telling you in detail the harvest in the Covid year. The first with facemasks and the necessity to keep at a distance however had had contact, even indirectly with those found positive. It has been terrible to say to two grape pickers to because their kids class was in quarantine <<go home and you can’t come back until you have a negative swab>> and it has been difficult to say to our consultant wine maker Valérie Lavigne << if you cannot have a swab done before leaving France you must renounce in coming>>. The risk of contagion has created as lot of worry, many problems and however a much less joyous atmosphere than usual.…

L'articolo 2020 Grape harvest is heading towards another 5-star double-win sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

In the confusion of the first days of lockdown, while all Italians were shut in their homes, my grape growers continued to go into the vineyards armed with written authorization for travelling by car, and with the first masks on their face. To complicate things, around March 20^th, while the vines were just budding, a frost arrived that burned the young leaves. Not a tragedy we all know that we have to hope for a low yield year because Covid-19 will devastate the markets. Such devastations arrived, even worse than we imagined. For this reason I decide to abandon 4 vineyards in 2020 for a total of 8 hectares. On these areas, which obviously I consider of less quality, we will only do the bare minimum.

SPRING FROST AND SPONTANEOUS REDUCTION IN GRAPE PRODUCTION

So I precede the decisions of the Minister Bellanova regarding the green harvesting.
The 2019-2020 winter was very mild and dry. During lockdown at Fattoria del Colle that was deserted, my husband Carlo and I console ourselves sunbathing at lunch time. Flowering of the vines happened between the end of May (in Montalcino) and the beginning of June (at Fattoria del Colle).

DRY AND MILD WINTER, RAINY JUNE, TORRID JULY

In June after several “drought” months the rainfall finally arrives, allowing us some relief, because regardless of Covid-19 we had succeeded in planting a new vineyard at Casato Prime Donne.…

L'articolo CHRONICLE 2020 IN BRUNELLO VINEYARDS AND WINERIES sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

From  Friday evening until Sunday to see how fine red wines from Tuscany are born, touching the vines, the grape clusters, and seeing the various phases of the vinification but mostly tasting must, wines, and Reserves … so as to understand the evolution of Bacchus’s nectar with the help of great experts. Three journalists will tell the history of Tuscan wine and the specificities in the production of Tuscan wines and of Sangiovese. A chance not to be missed for wine lovers, where they can stay in peace in the vast spaces of the countryside and in the healthy ambiance of the BIO (organic) vineyards.

FULL EXPERIENCE GRAPE HARVEST WITH BRUNELLO CHIANTI AND ORCIA

18-20, 25-27 September, 2-4, 9-11 October with a program that includes visits, wine tastings, direct experiences and an in -sight lesson with a super expert.

The frame for these weekends full of experiences and emotions is Fattoria del Colle, 2 and a half hours from Rome and Bologna, one hour from Florence and Perugia.

18 km from the A1 exit Valdichiana-Bettolle.

Fattoria del Colle is a small rural hamlet from the end of the 16th century. There is a villa, a chapel and the old farmers’ houses that have now become lodgings for guests, furnished with antiques and with modern comfort.…

L'articolo Full experience Grape Harvest in Tuscany sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Life as a wine producer is full of surprises: the article in Decanter is dedicated to the hedonistic pleasure of enjoying wine, rewards our Brunello 2014 and fills us with joy.

The wines born in weaker vintages are like “Children of a lesser God”, to discover their beauty it is necessary to overcome the clichés. This is what has happened to the Brunello 2014, product of a rainy and cool year that forced us to choose the clusters and o produced just a third of our normal production. Consequently in this vintage we used for Brunello what usually goes into our selection and the Riserva, the grapes from our TOP vineyards, that never fail, whatever the climate.

BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2014, GOOD RATINGS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

The specialized international press reports were favourable: 91/100 from Robert Parker -Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast,  90/100 from Wine Spectator. The market had appreciated this pleasant to drink and “carefree” Brunello, as Monica Larner called it.
However nobody let out a “cry of joy” before this article by Andrew Jefford, Decanter contributing editor and multiple award-winning author, published in the most important UK wine magazine and among the most authoritative and influential in the world.

ANDREW JEFFORD FROM DECANTER AND THE PLEASURE OF WINE

The article regards the pleasure of wine.…

L'articolo The vengeance of Brunello 2014 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

It is a Liberty-style dessert, an era when cafés became an important place in social life. In Montalcino, like in Venice or Turin, the local public places in the centre were re-qualified and enriched with velvet and mirrors so as to be able to welcome the bourgeois clients. These in Montalcino, the city of Brunello, comprised those who were noble, academics, business men, landowners and even a few artists.

CAFFE’ IN FORCHETTA IN MONTALCINO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20th CENTURY

Montalcino has always, in fact, had a diversified social structure, cultured and open minded. Regardless of this liveliness the lifestyle of the women was controlled and certainly not as casual as in Paris. In particular, women were criticized if they drank coffee, it was considered too audacious. For this reason a cream caramel was invented where to the milk was added to coffee. This way it was possible to serve coffee to the ladies without it seeming so.  This dessert was quite a success and was served in all homes, until like everything else it was no longer fashionable. I published a booklet called “66 ricette di cucina montalcinese” where the fine oral Montalcinese gastronomy was transcribed. This brought back into use the caffè in forchetta that is now once again very present in the restaurant menus in the Brunello territory.…

L'articolo CAFFE’ IN FORCHETTA, A MONTALCINO DESSERT sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Donatella Cinelli Colombini has collected recipes from housewives in and around Trequanda even before opening the Fattoria del Colle. For the same reason, she has a vegetable garden with lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes, Aglione … as well as tarragon, and many types of mint, sage and rosemary …

FINE WINES OF CASATO PRIME DONNE AND FROM FATTORIA DEL COLLE

Obviously the strong point of the Fattoria del Colle restaurant is that the wine comes from the two wineries: Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and the same farm where we make the Chianti Superiore, Supertuscan and Doc Orcia Cenerentola, the latter is becoming a real star in the wine world. The wine list is made up of around 15 preferences including a sparkling wine, a white and a rosé. Those who might think that using wine as a restaurant’s key strength, do not consider that the menu has been constructed to exalt the flavours in the glass and that it is possible to change the wine matched to each dish or something really extraordinary, choose a Brunello vertical tasting selecting from 23 vintages and more than 50 labels between Brunello Riserva, Prime Donne selection and regular Brunello.

If the notes from the glass were not to be sufficient, there are always the explanations from the staff or from the chef Alessandro Sironi who is a sommelier.…

L'articolo We are open, come and have dinner at Fattoria del Colle sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Come and spend a weekend in the most beautiful countryside on a real four hundred year old farm. Among the vineyards, olive groves and breathtaking views Fattoria del Colle proposes stays in rooms with private bathrooms and in apartments with outdoor private areas equipped for eating out-of-doors. Carefully sanitized inside and out so as to guarantee the safety of the guests. However to avoid possible contamination, daily cleaning is still not supplied, just the delivery of clean linen.

REGENERATE OUT IN THE OPEN, TOURS WITH TASTINGS AND THEMED DINNERS

3 equipped parks where to sunbathe, admire the panorama and enjoy the quiet of the countryside, 1 swimming pool, 3 signposted hiking trails, where one discovers nature, a special trail dedicated to the vine.

The excursion to Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino (Saturday 11 am) with a tasting of Rosso, Brunello and Riserva. Then the  guided tour of the vegetable garden and the vineyards at Fattoria del Colle (Sunday 10,30 am). This includes a tasting of Doc Orcia Cenerentola, of another two wines and of the 2019 extra virgin olive oil enrich the stay with new experiences.
At Fattoria del Colle the restaurant serves dinners based on 6 samplings of traditional recipes prepared by Alessandro the chef. He gives you an overview of Tuscan flavours: Pinci, Pappardelle, sugo di nana or aglione, Scottiglia, Peposo, Latte in piedi and Ricotta montata …

The two halls in the restaurant and the large outside area allow the tables to be well distanced so that guests will eat in privacy and safety.…

L'articolo Summer weekend among the Tuscan vineyards sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

A RAMPANT LION AND DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI’S ANCESTORS

The name of the wine and the rampant lion on the label come from Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s ancestors’ coat of arms. This family in 1592 built Fattoria del Colle where this wine is born. This was an old and rich Tuscan family, mostly jurists and philosophers; they were then called Socini or Sozzini. The names of two Socinis, Lelio (1525-1562) and Fausto (1539-1604) are written in philosophy books as they were free thinkers and against the Church and, because of their writings regarding the Trinity dogma. Unfortunately their creed made them famous but also made them poor because they ended up being excommunicated and all their properties confiscated. Fattoria del Colle became once again property of this family only in 1919 when it was bought by Donatella’s grandfather Livio Socini.
Still today the family blazon, the rampant lion, is visible upon the entrances and on the ceilings of the Colle villa.

DOC ORCIA IS A YOUNG DESIGNATION AMONG THE GREAT

The Leone Rosso wine is a family wine, produced in the 17 hectares of vineyard at Fattoria del Colle, vinified and aged in the estate cellar. Its denomination Orcia DOC extends among the high hills between the Chianti, Brunello and Vino Nobile territories. Hence an area with a particular predisposition to producing red wines with Sangiovese.…

L'articolo DOC ORCIA BIO LEONE ROSSO 2018 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Itinerant tastings that resemble adventures out to discover vineyards and wines, aromas and tastes, panoramas and historical locations. Also the proposal for a day at Fattoria del Colle to regenerate in a safe place, in contact with nature an able to tell a story centuries old. An itinerary dedicated to vineyards and to the wines they produce. Another activity that proposes an itinerant tasting with a mixture of history, aromas and flavours. A lunch experience to taste different Tuscan cheeses or cold cuts, and on Saturdays the possibility of an excursion to the Brunello di Montalcino winery Casato Prime Donne.

Tours and lunches are organized upon request and must be booked the previous day calling +39 0577 662108 or via email at info@cinellicolombini.it

ITINERANT TASTING IN THE VINEYARDS

3 vineyards, 3 grape varieties and 3 wine tastings (h. 12,00 midday from the farm courtyard)

Itinerant tasting of the wines in the organic vineyards with the same variety of grapes are grown: Traminer for the IGT bianco Sanchimento, Foglia Tonda for the Doc Orcia Cenerentola and Sangiovese for the Brunello that is made in Montalcino at Casato Prime Donne visible at a distance. This experience thanks to an expert guide will be a fun discovery of the characteristic of the three varieties and of the vines they produce (15 Euro per person).…

L'articolo Fattoria del Colle new top wine destination sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

94/100 from the Brunello and 95/100 for the  “Prime Donne” selection, two extraordinary ratings and especially two comments that portray perfectly  Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s wines and her choice of style.

Monica Larner is the super taster for Italian wines for Robert Parker – Wine Advocate. This is the wine magazine that since 1978, taste and judges 12.000 wine per year, tasting the best wines the world over and orienting the most important buyers. Since 2013 Monica Larner is the Italian wine reviewer and with the passing of time she has begun to stand out because of her ability as a talent scout that can discover new trend and up and coming denominations. Her writing abilities emerge in articles where she tells of events and people with clarity and depth always with a personal touch

WINE ADVOCATE  – ROBERT PARKER

Wine Advocate-Robert Parker, recently bought by the Michelin group, those who print the famous red guidebook on restaurants. This is the only wine publication that does not accept advertisements. Rigorous ethical choices that are shared by all collaborators and that Monica Larner has extended also to other areas like in 2013 when she refused to taste the wines made by a producer who had written offensive racist remarks about a black woman.

Monica Larner’s words regarding Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Brunello are an example of journalistic intelligence and great tasting ability.…

L'articolo Brunello 2015 according to Monica Larner sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in southern Chianti, the first in Italy to have an all female staff in Italy, see the arrival of two new entries: Sabrina Buzzolan and Giada Sani.

THE TWO YOUNG WINEMAKERS AT CASATO PRIME DONNE AND FATTORIA DEL COLLE

Two young winemakers who will share the responsibility of producing Brunello, Chianti Superiore and Doc Orcia under the supervision of  Barbara Magnani who for the past twenty years has been Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s right arm. In medium -long term the idea is to renew the staff. Though at the moment Donatella and Barbara intend to keep the younger staff under Barbara’s wings to strengthen their abilities and to stimulate the desire to innovate without forgetting tradition and nature. <<An alchemy that requires courage, love of the territory and passion for cellar work>> explains Donatella Cinelli Colombini while presenting the two new arrivals. Both are small and minute, they are different though in aspect and in personality.  Giada is Tuscan from Asciano, 10 km away from Fattoria del Colle; she has dark long hair and love tidiness.  Sabrina Buzzolan comes from Malo Vicenza; she has blonde curly hair and the skin tone of the women by Tiziano.

SABRINA BUZZOLAN GLOBETROTTER AND WINEMAKER

In their professional journey there are differences too. Sabrina studied at San Michele all’Adige and then in the University in Udine where she got a degree in viticulture and oenology.…

L'articolo Donatella’s two new young winemakers sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

My memories go back to the years between 1975 and 1985; I was a young woman and was living between Montalcino and Siena. This was a very middle class existence and however decidedly provincial. I was used to meeting with intellectual and famous people because my family had always associated with that type of person, but Federico Fellini was surely out of range

That man was quite a myth. A worldwide recognized genius with 5 Oscars. His fame was so big that it would have daunted even those more equipped than I. In front of him I was consequently very nervous. My hands were sweaty I was unable to sit still and most of all I was able only to say a few polite sentences but was unable to have a proper conversation. I thought I didn’t have anything that would be interesting to say. What a shame!!

Federico Fellini and his wife Giulietta Masina would come to Tuscany for the Chianciano thermal waters. From there they would come to Montalcino for a break during the sessions, and maybe even for a gluttonous escape. Often they would come with Mario Guidotti or sometimes with the young Fabio Carlesi.

FEDERICO FELLINI AND GIULIETTA MASINA IN MONTALCINO

Fellini was always untidy as though he hated to have his clothes ironed.…

L'articolo Donatella Cinelli Colombini remembers Federico Fellini sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

HOW BENVENUTO BRUNELLO WAS BORN

It is said that the idea of the previews was born during a trip to the USA of the Consortium of Brunello when the president Sante Turone announced to his deputy Andrea Constanti and to the director Stefano Campatelli we will make an event to present Brunello who is about to enter trade and give evaluation (from one to 5 stars) of the last harvest. His name will be Benvenuto Brunello.

Despite the astonishing reaction of the two interlocutors the project went on and the first edition was organized in 1992 in the multipurpose halls under the Municipality of Montalcino while the tile with the two stars of the harvest was painted by Roberto Turchi.
A year later, at the event, it grew up moving under a tent set up in the fourteenth-century fortress of Montalcino and then (with my personal contribution), in the present location of the Sant’Agostino complex. As the influx of specialized journalists from all over the world grew, so did the buyers, who have traditionally reserved the last two days of the tastings. In the success of Benvenuto Brunello has played a determining role the  Montalcino agency WineNews of Irene and Alessandro Regoli that grew of reputation and importance almost at the same speed.…

L'articolo Benvenuto Brunello a 28 year old success sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

EASTER WEEKEND AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE WITH A VIEW

 Fattoria del Colle (write to holiday@cinellicolombini.it for the program) is an extraordinary place. It is basically a small hamlet built at the end of the 16^th century. Here there is an aristocratic villa, chapel, parks, and old farmhouses transformed into lodgings for visitors, restaurants and wellness area. Above all at Easter we are offering guests the possibility to really experience the authentic and old Tuscany . We propose  old recipes such as corolli and schiacciate or l’acqua cotta pasqualina,… guided tours in the Brunello and Orcia Doc-Chianti Superiore wineries , brief cookery lessons and itinerant or vertical  wine tastings to understand the magical longevity of the Montalcino wines.

SURROUNDING THE FATTORIA DEL COLLE ESTATE ABBEYS AND CITIES OF ART

Surrounding the farm, a landscape that has remained miraculously untouched for. A short distance away are the great cities of art and the great abbeys. Just  12 km away the Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore, 35 km distant is the Abbey of  Sant’Antimo in Montalcino and just over an hour away the Abbazia di San Francesco in Assisi. In a 40 km radius one finds  Cortona, Montepulciano, Pienza, San Quirico-Bagno Vignoni, Montalcino, Buonconvento and Lucignano.…

L'articolo Easter at Fattoria del Colle sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Refined music drives you to buy expensive wines, relaxing music decreases the frustration of those queuing in front of the register, whereas a very well-known music distracts you from buying.

So, the rhythm accelerates consumer movements between the shelves and decreases sales. Here, in a nutshell, how sounds can change the attitude of wine lovers inside a wine bar or in the shop of the cellar.
That’s why spreading the sounds of an opera helps an Italian winery to sell more and more expensive wines.

THE NEUROMARKETING OF VINCENZO RUSSO AND THE USE OF MUSIC TO SELL WINE

Professor Vincenzo Russo, the most experienced Italian neuromarketing expert,  teaches us, through Trebicchieri – economic weekly by Gambero Rosso, how  sounds influence the purchase of wine.

It should be assumed that hearing has an “adaptive function” because it is closely connected with three parts of the brain. We have the limbic system in which emotions reside, the prefrontal Cortex that makes us feel pleasure and motor Cortex that, as the name says, commands movement. The first two are the real pleasure centers in all of us, in fact they are the parts of our brain that react “euphorically” when we eat food that we like, and consequently when we  have sex or we use drugs.…

L'articolo Music and wine: How sounds make you sell more sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne is very traditional in style, produced in a small exclusive selection.
It owes its exceptionality to the grapes of Sangiovese from which it is born. The small size of the bunches and grapes allow it to combine longevity, an extraordinary elegance and a surprising pleasure. The solid acidic and tannic structure is in fact barely perceptible thanks to a perfect harmony.

HISTORY OF A CHALLENGE: BRUNELLO PRIME DONNE

Brunello Prime Donne selection was produced for the first time with the 1993 vintage.
Donatella Cinelli Colombini had just begun to design the company that bears her name and that is characterized by the two wineries– Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda – with an entirely female staff. The attention to the role of women in wine led Donatella to observe that  wine critics and curators of the Italian wine guides were, in 1998, all men.

She decided to reaffirm the importance of women’s taste in the choice of wine by creating the first Brunello selected from a feminine and international panel. The first group consisted of 4 tasters, the English Master of Wine Maureen Ashley, the German wine maker Astrid Schwarz, one of the best Italian sommeliers Daniela Scrobogna and the Italian-american Pr Marina Thompson.…

L'articolo Brunello Prime Donne: story of a challenge sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

The climatic trend shows the typical characteristics of the best Brunello with rainy winter and spring that have hydrated the soil, very hot July that has blocked a vegetative development determining a reduced size of the grapes, August with thunderstorms alternating with hot days, September with very strong thermal variation between night and day that have favoured the synthesis of perfumes.

A script that repeats itself for all the great vintages of Brunello and seems to show that global warming is an authentic luck for the Montalcino vineyard because it multiplies the five-star vintages and raises the quality level to highs never reached in the past.

CLIMATE OF THE YEAR 2015

2015 will be remembered for its capricious climate that in the south of Tuscany, spared Montalcino, but did huge damage all around: in Torrita on July 5, hailstones as big as oranges, destroyed roofs and cars, on August 24, the flood of the river Arbia brought water to museums, houses, shops and even the theatre, a real disaster.

MONTALCINO AND ITS EXCELLENT HARVEST 2015

Montalcino seemed to have divine protection and the grapes arrived at the harvest in perfect conditions.
In fact on September 14th when our wine consultant Valerie Lavigne arrived, the grapes were almost ready for harvesting and presented in the best way. Valerie had with her an exceptional guest, the headmaster of the Bordeaux oenology faculty Denis Dubourdieu one of the most powerful and feared men in the wine world. …

L'articolo Brunello 2015 Donatella Cinelli Colombini sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne is produced only in the best vintages. It’s a small selection of 6,000 bottles intended for high-level restaurants and wine bars around the world.

It’s the first Brunello produced and thought from a female perspective. In fact, the winery that produces it, Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino, is the first in Italy with an only female staff, including the enologist. In addition, it is the first long-aging red wine that is followed, from birth to bottling, by a pannel of 4 expert international tasters: a wine shop owner, a sommelier and two Master of Wine: Astrid Schwarz, Daniela Scrobogna, Rosemary George MW to which is about to be added the Swedish Madeleine Stenwreth MW. They choose the wine among the different vineyards of Sangiovese Brunello, decide the type of oak barrel and finally the blend among the oak barrels .

Obviously Brunello Prime Donne is also popular with men and has excellent ratings in the main international press, but it is also a flag for female wine. In fact, in 1998 when Donatella

Cinelli Colombini inaugurated the project “Prime Donne” and the role of the fair sex in enology was very small, this wine was the first to celebrate the importance of female taste.
Brunello Prime Donne is very traditional, with an excellent structure with velvety tannins and great harmony.…

L'articolo Brunello Prime Donne 2015 a wine to marry. sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

At Fattoria del Colle, the New Year’s Eve 2020 holidays full of experiences for foodies, wine lovers and lovers of peace and Tuscan traditions

From 26 December 26th till January 6th, Fattoria del Colle, in the south of Chianti, offers a program of daily animations able to introduce visitors to the most authentic and ancient Tuscan tradition. There will be a visit to the wineries of Brunello with a special musical accompaniment, the cooking lesson on Sienese Christmas sweets such as panforte and ricciarelli held by a pastry chef, themed dinners with 3 dishes, the experience “oenologist for one day” led by a sommelier, the guided tour of the historical parts of Fattoria del Colle with itinerant tasting, tasting of the new olive oil …. Each initiative is tailormade to offer knowledge and fun to both great wine lovers and simple lovers of the countryside and views.
For the detailed program of the activities, the prices and to book click here.

FATTORIA DEL COLLE AN INTACT CORNER OF ANCIENT TUSCANY

Fattoria del Colle was built by the ancestors of the present owner in 1592 and has been preserved miraculously intact over the centuries. There is the villa with the ancient kitchen, the room of the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the underground now full of barrels, there is the Chapel of San Clemente and all around parks, olive groves, vineyards and truffle reserves. Also the transformation of the ancient village of peasants into tourist residences was made without altering the original characteristics preserving even the ancient floors, the rooms are furnished with authentic local antiques.…

L'articolo New Year’s Eve 2020 tasting Brunello in the Tuscan countryside sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Wine Enthusiast with 95/100 and Robert Parker with 94/100 reward Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s  Brunello riserva 2013,  and with 91/100 her  Brunello vintage 2014

Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Brunello 2013 Riserva flies high thanks to the 94 and 95 out of 100 from the two most important wine magazines in the world. Hence, a favourable beginning for the sales of the riserva that starts right now thanks to the preview events in Tuscany.

Most noteworthy is the rating of the Brunello 2014 judged by both Wine Advocate/Robert Parker and Wine Enthusiast with 91/100. A high rating for a wine of extraordinary pleasantness but not apt for a very long ageing, factor that usually has great weight in the International wine critic’s opinion. 2014 was a very rainy so the Brunellos from that year are at the moment more satisfying compared to other vintages where the structure (tannic and acidic) and has an effect of more powerful fullness in the mouth. The  2014 vintage has  the elegance of a classical ballet dancer, fort eh reason that it offers pure pleasure, it is a carefree wine as described by Monica Larner, in other words a Brunello to be consumed and not stored.

BRUNELLO RISERVA ALL IN AGREEMENT:VERY VERY GOOD

Let us go back to the Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2013 indicating also the 97/100 from Bruno Petronilli in his  jamesmagazine , and where he confesses to have been quite surprised by the quality of this wine, as he did not expect it to be so high << A very charming Brunello, right from the aroma, that seduced with a solemn elegance…..…

L'articolo For Parker and Wine Enthusiast excellent Riserva 2013 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

In the Wine Advocate -Robert Parker wine tasting the Italian team was the largest, with 53 wineries all along the external perimeter of the hall. For many wineries the owners were present personally. From Montalcino there were 12 of us, 20% of Italian wineries, a very high number that indicates the consideration of Brunello by the most important wine magazine in the world.

Matter of Taste – fine wine experience

The Matter of Taste – fine wine experience reunites 600 excellent wines from all over the world chosen among those that have obtained 90/100 or more from Robert Parker-Wine Advocate. In the tastings you are really spoilt for choice. On the Saturday I concentrate on the Spanish bottles where I find too much oak, although in their opinion this muscular imprint helps them to sell.

I am fascinated by the immense quality potential of the Portuguese and Chilean wines and I am completely taken by the Eolo wine, obtained from a vineyard planted in 1912 in the Trivento winery. Sunday was dedicated to tasting South African wines (where I enjoy a taste of an excellent De Toren 2010) that I know very well thanks to my 6 trips, unsuccessful, to find a partner with whom to create a winery.…

L'articolo The Wine Advocate in Zurich with 600 wines sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Practically an adventure weekend, together with the sacredness of convents and some gluttonous indulgence at the table and in the cellar, especially discovering Brunello, Chianti and Orcia through tastings and unique experiences.

Fattoria del Colle is a small hamlet in the midst of the countryside that has remained unchanged for centuries. Olive groves, vineyards, smooth hills of the Sienese and the Crete Senesi full of cities of art. In Fattoria del Colle the rooms and apartments are furnished with antiques, there are two restaurants, 4 hiking routes, three parks, a cookery school and of course the wineries.

EASTER FOR WINE LOVERS AND THOSE ENAMOURED WITH THE COUNTRYSIDE

The Easter program includes an authentic master class on the fine Tuscan wines, this is fun and full of surprises that will impassion even teetotallers and will transform wine lovers into real experts on Sangiovese. Then tours of the Brunello and Orcia wineries, brief cookery lesson, guided tours to the historical part of the 16th century villa and to the historic vegetable garden, three themed dinners, and a vertical tasting of Brunello ….

For those who wish to relax in the healthy warmth of wine and water there is a Jacuzzi for a toast in front of the panorama and a tub for couple’s vinotherapy  and then natural therapies to regenerate the body and mind in the delightful and exclusive wellness area at Fattoria del Colle.…

L'articolo Easter in Tuscany, discover fine wines sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Calaf from the Turandot, in chocolate

Calaf is a series of 9 pralines in dark chocolate filled with drops of Brunello, Amarone, Fiano di Avellino, Passerina del Frusinate, Malvasia, Passito di Pantelleria, Primitivo and Taurasi. Obviously the Brunello is one produced by Donatella Cinelli Colombini.

Every bon bon is packaged, as if it were a jewel, in single boxes, or in a box set that contains the whole series of 9-18 chocolates.  On the outside there are drawings from the beginning of the 20th century, a clear exotic inspiration that recalls the protagonist of the Turandot.  Calaf is in fact a Chinese prince that succeeds in transforming into a woman in love, the beautiful but bloodthirsty Princess called Turandot. This old fable became famous because of the music written by Giacomo Puccini and never finished by the composer because of his passing. For this reason, during the first performance in (1926) at the Teatro Alla Scala, the Maestro Toscanini interrupted the representation at the point where the composer had left it, and refused, even in later occasions to perform the completed version by Franco Alfano.

Calaf and the fine wine and love pralines

So Calaf is a love hero. He who puts his life at risk to have the woman he loves. And it is this romantic character that Nadia Pagliuca, born in Campania but now living in Tuscany that inspired her to create a high end series of exclusive chocolates.…

L'articolo Calaf and Brunello become a chocolate masterpiece sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

The Brunello 2013 vintage started off with a low profile judged a 4 star vintage, but after the ageing in barrel has proven to be extraordinary in its complexity and finesse.  In the IOsonoDonatella this characters show in its extraordinary elegance. This is in fact an exclusive “fine wine” apt for important occasion and as a gift, this wine is produced only during the best harvests and comes entirely from the Ardita vineyard. This is a plot of Sangiovese of about two hectares where the soil gives the grapes and wines an extraordinary finesse.

The IOsonoDonatella selection was created for the first time with the Brunello 2010 when Donatella Cinelli Colombini understood that her dream of making an exceptional Brunello had come true. A project that began in 1998 when she received from her mother Francesca, Casato Prime Donne on the Montalcino hill and began to renovate the winery. An impassioned grape grower’s dream that year after year has brought Donatella to obtain awards from all over the world

The IOsonoDonatella bottles tell Cinelli Colombini’s story. On the bottle front the shape of a ring made out of glitter, with her crest in real gold.

This symbolizes a medieval ring with a seal, these we subjects that Donatella studied when young and when she dedicate all her time to history of art and especially goldsmiths’ work from the 15th century.…

L'articolo IOsonoDonatella 2013 Brunello di Montalcino D.O.C.G. sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Montalcino, Brunello

And I am not referring to the Alma-AIS institute title that a few years ago created reaction of indignation but I am talking of the Court of Master Sommeliers a fellowship born in 1969 that includes 240 members in USA, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Germany, Holland and France. These are the top of the sommelerie: tasters, journalists, opinion  makers, wine educators… these are competent professionals, of great talent and who have an enormous influence on the market.

Their president is the great Gerard Basset who is also a Master of Wine. But the Master Sommeliers are now rivals, for prestige and influence of the very powerful MWs, in fact in some cases they are even more powerful.

There is not one Italian among either the Masters of Wine or the  Master Sommeliers.

A sign of provincialism that also surfaces in International competitions: when ther are Italians on the podium they work abroad , just like  Paolo Basso. Also the young women who might become the first Italian Master Sommelier lives in Canada. Her name is Cristina Cippitelli, and she came to visit me at Fattoria del Colle , from Toronto where she works at the Air Canada Center while she is studying for the  Wset diploma and for the Advanced Certificate for the Master Sommelier.…

L'articolo Cristina Cippitelli will be our first Master Sommelier sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

This proposal during harvest and racking is for wine lovers who want to see how the wines are born but also for lovers of the countryside and of its harmonium landscapes, of its traditional cuisine, of a simple but elegant style of life

Donatella Cinelli Colombini proposes two experiences: the first should coincide with the white grape harvest and to the moment of first tastes of the red grapes. The second on the other hand should be when the Sangiovese grapes for Brunello and the clusters for Doc Orcia and Chianti Superiore reach the cellar. To see how these famous wines which get International consent are born, is an exciting experience that allows one to come into contact with nature and allows you to share the producer’s passion.

September 1st-2nd, two days one night pull of experiences that enrich with knowledge and emotions.

Arrive on Saturday afternoon, tour the vineyards and learn about the technique of tasting grapes that allows grape growers to evaluate the ripening and to foresee the date of the harvest. Hoping in favourable weather and the cellar decisions, you should be able to take part in the phases of picking and preserving the Traminer grapes for the Passito. Then a tour of the winery with a tasting of 3 Brunello and then a 4 course dinner matched with four wines from Fattoria del Colle.…

L'articolo Grape harvest and racking between Brunello, Orcia and Chianti sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

A vintage this 2016 to be framed: depth, complexity, and finesse, and  longevity, characteristics that only a slow ripening of the grapes can give to a wine.

The Sangiovese, main variety used in Cenerentola DOC Orcia (together with Foglia Tonda), produces grapes that are meteoropathic, so can go mad and ruin if the climate is adverse. Its skin is made up of few layers of cells so it needs the help of the sun to express itself at its best. For this reason in the high hills of Southern Toscana, where the climate is dry but cool, Sangiovese has its ideal habitat and reached levels of excellence impossible elsewhere in the world.

There were surprises regarding the harvest date too: the vines had sprouted a good 15 days earlier than usual, and everyone, including us, thought that the harvest would have been precocious one. On the contrary already when the veraison happened (changing of the colour of the grapes from green to blue) the calendar of the vegetation cycle was already aligned with the traditional one, then the ripening proceeded regularly and slowly. In 2016 for the first time in a long time, the clusters reached the time of harvest at  a snail’s pace with a mass of sugar in the berries growing slower than the poliphenolic ripening, that of the noble substances in the skins. …

L'articolo Cenerentola Doc Orcia, a wine with a crown sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Casato Prime Donne

Monica I love you!

It is easy for a wine producer to love a wine critic who appreciates their wine. But it is even easier to love a wine critic who appreciates the wine and sees mirrored in it the producer’s personality. For this reason I really adore Monica Larner the Italian reviewer for Robert Parker Jr- Wine Advocate .When she wrote <<….because of her steadfast dedication to all things Tuscan and wine-related, she is one of the figures I admire most in today’s world of vino italiano>>  I nearly fainted.

Monica was born into a family connected to wine and cinema. Her father Steven Larner, of whom she writes with great love, has been director of photography for very successful films and TV productions, while her brother is wine maker in the family estate in the Ballard Canyon, in Santa Barbara, California and has passed the last few months living the nightmare of the California wildfires.

Monica has had on-hand experience regarding grape growing, including the pruning process. She has in other words a past as a pure journalist with collaborations with La Repubblica, International Herald Tribune and Corriere della Sera, but at the same time a real “grape grower”. In 2003 she began working for Wine Enthusiast and judging Italian wines and getting famous for her great nose able to discover emerging wines from regions such as Etna.…

L'articolo Excellent ratings for Brunello from Robert Parker – Wine Advocate sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Psychology of Design: Colour and wine labels

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Brunello di Montalcino , Casato Prime Donne

Lets go back to the subject of messages given by colours so as to continue on the subject of wine packaging, started a while back

Below you will find an explanation regarding colours so that we may try to understand which are most apt for each type of wine

PURPLE: This expresses sadness. It must be used sparingly

BLUE: is a cold colour that expresses elegance and seduction but also solidity and because of this is chosen by many banks. It refers to an aristocratic and elite culture which is well associated with traditionally made wines produced in historic locations such as castles, villas or medieval hamlets. Better still if the wine as a male target.

LIGHT BLUE: this colour contains messages of purity and spirituality maybe more apt for water. In wines this might indicate extreme choices such as heroic wines made in the mountains, natural wines, or those produced on land confiscated from organized crime.

GREEN: represents nature and can send out different messages depending on its intensity. In its lighter hue it expresses stillness, if intense a sense of energy and regeneration, if cold it signifies sobriety-. It also contains a vein of humour this is often used with infantile graphics, to distinguish the extreme simplicity and economics of choices- More apt for white wines rather than red for their fresh notes.…

L'articolo The meaning of colours on wine labels sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

In the wellness centre at Fattoria del Colle the massage room is ready. It is an intimate and comfortable place where the same character of the whole structure is re-proposed with its old stone walls, tile frames with floral designs, windows over a beautiful breathtaking panorama … there is even an old cloche hanger to get away from the “new feeling “ of the place. . It is connected to the wellness centre through an opaque glass door and allows one to view the wellness itinerary made of water, heat, relaxation, panoramas and if desired a toast with great red wines in the Jacuzzi.

The wellness centre at Fattoria del Colle is in the court yard behind the 16th century. It looks over the wonderful panorama of the Crete Senesiand of

the Val d’Orcia where no building interferes with the immense landscape, which is harmonious and unchanged through the centuries.
A maximum of six people can enter at a time, but it is also possible to use the structure exclusively. The itinerary includes sauna, Turkish bath, sensorial shower and footbath, relaxation room and Jacuzzi. This is in fact the most exceptional factor thank to the beauty of the panorama and the possibility of being cradled by the water and lights, sipping Brunello and other wines by Donatella Cinelli Colombini in goblets made of plastic especially for being used in water.…

L'articolo Massage therapy and Spa during your holiday in Tuscany sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Monasterace is a town where a pharmacist married with two children, a normal woman, has become a modern hero. She is a mayor who has remained in place despite attacks and personal threats thereby becoming a symbol and a shining example for all women. This is our Prima Donna 2012, the star of our ceremony in Montalcino, which is taking place on Saturday, September 15th at 5pm in the Astrusi Theatre, together with Giorgio Dell’Orefice, Luciano Ferraro, Montalcino News and Gianfranco Bracci, other award winners from the stunning countryside where we produce our wonderful Brunello and the Doc Orcia wines.

It is amongst this beautiful countryside that you find the Casato Prime Donne which is owned by Donatella Cinelli Colombini. It is a winery the first in Italy with an all-female staff, which organizes the prize and promotes the merits of the selected female model individual amongst society much as it promotes its barrels of Brunello. The shining female example that the judges of the prize Casato Prime Donne were looking for was easily recognised in the

individual Maria Carmela Lanzetta, the italian mayor who has suffered the burning down of her family pharmacy business, survived three gunshots at her car and numerous other threats, and despite all of this she has stuck to her principles and maintained her post as mayor which has gained the respect and solidarity of the national institutions and also of her countrymen.…

L'articolo All the winners of Casato Prime Donne Award 2012 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

 What do the words DIVERSITY, IDENTITY, TIPICALITY? In an era of globalization these seem to have become more important but can they merge with the research for high quality?

1) Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Valerie Lavigne Identity and typicality define the personality of the wine. It is through them that wine is recognizable by its taste, taste that is the specific expression of one or more grape varieties grown in a given region. Without authenticity, there can be no diversity. Therefore the search for quality in my opinion is inextricably linked from the notions of authenticity, identity and therefore diversity.

2) Donatella Cinelli Colombin autochthonous varieties like Sangiovese, Foglia Tonda and Sagrantino. What have they to offer more or less of compared to the international varieties like Cabernet or Merlot

VLV Autochtonous grape varieties, when combined with the image of a great wine produced in this region, Brunello Sangiovese for example, are always cultivated at their northern limit, ie where there is always a little more difficult than elsewhere to get a full maturity. It is in these conditions that the grape expression is the most original and most inimitable either.
The international varieties like merlot, cabernet sauvignon or chardonnay, when grown in Bordeaux and Burgundy are at their northern limit. The aromas of these varieties, in these circumstances are very unique and identifiable.…

L'articolo Donatella Cinelli Colombini interviews the wine maker Valerie Lavigne sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

“Traveller” UK  from the “Condé Nast” editorial group, so as if to say, the queen of tourism magazines, in the May 2011 edition has published the 10 most beautiful wineries to visit in Toscana and Umbria, ours are in third position.

A bronze medal for Donatella Cinelli Colombini wineries, surpassed only by Tenuta di Capezzana and Fonterutoli.  An unexpected but very welcomed honour which projects us among the  excellent destinations of Italian wine tourism. In our wineries the tours are different to other places. At Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda the visit includes the halls of 16th century villa with the bedroom which once belonged to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the chapel, the gardens, and obviously the winery which produces Chianti and Doc Orcia wines. The tour begins in a medieval hermitage, crosses the remains of a tower and finally rises up into the loft where the Vinsanto caratelli are stored.
At Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino  the Brunello barrels are alternated with frescoes regarding Montalcino’s

 history, and the  hall for the wine tastings exhibits the most beautiful photographs of the Val d’Orcia  from the last 10 years. For those who would like to work off some of the wine tasted , before driving once again there is a path through the Sangiovese vineyards with panoramic resting spots where works of contemporary art and quotations from famous women enrich the landscape.…

L'articolo Donatella Cinelli Colombini wineries among the 10 more fantastic winery to visit sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.