Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s first BIO Brunello. Eight years of waiting: the first three in conversion and then the harvest and the long journey of the wine in the cellar, up to the bottle
2018-Harvest-in-Montalcino-at-Casato-Prime-Donne
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.
2018 crowns the talent of Tuscan winemakers. A vintage that is very reminiscent of those of our grandparents and has given us a modern, elegant and richly scented Brunello
After a very dry 2017, the first half of 2018 was very rainy and replenished the soil’s water reserves. A positive element for nature but also a challenge for those who cultivate the vineyards. 16 rainy days in January, 16 in February, 20 in March, 11 in April and 18 in May. In June the Sangiovese vines for Brunello had few bunches and a lot of grass also because we grow organicallyand therefore without herbicides.
THE 2018 VINTAGE IN MONTALCINO
An English summer, with an umbrella always at hand and, at the end of August an Arctic disturbance that whitened the Alps and stiffened the skin of the grapes in our vineyards. September had sunny days and almost winter nights. An anomalous climatic situation that has greatly helped the vineyards. The grapes became smaller and as they matured they softened and an amazing synthesis of aromas took place.
The aromatic richness is the characterizing element of the 2018 vintage.
Donatella Cinelli Colombini presents Rosso di Montalcino 2021 born in an amazing vintage. Never before 4 super vintages one after another in Montalcino
Montalcino’s series of extraordinary harvests does not seem to want to stop: 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Never before has the land of Brunello lined up such a dazzling sequence.
Each vintage with different characteristics to create the desire and curiosity to taste them all. Rosso di Montalcino offers this opportunity rather quickly and here is the 2021, vigorous and velvety after six months spent in cask.
The young appellation of Montalcino is experiencing a period of particular success. A growing market demand that has literally emptied the cellars, monographic tastings by Sommeliers and journalists, an event that highlights “RED Montalcino” and a number of articles never seen before. In short, it is a trendy wine that young wine lovers like for its drinkability and pleasant and understandable style.
In Montalcino, for the first time, there have been 3 extraordinary harvests 2019, 2020 and 2021 one after the other. The one in the middle is extraordinary for its bouquet and full taste
Never before has there been such a favorable sequence. A great gift for winemakers but also a great challenge because the three vintages had very different characteristics and therefore had to be interpreted in a different way.
2020 started badly with a small frost during the bud (18-23 March) which reduced the quantity of grapes. The winter was mild and arid. The rain came in June in a very abundant way, throughout the month. The heat began in mid-July and lasted until September with almost no rain but with a strong difference in temperature between night and day. At the time of harvest, the grapes were very small, perfectly ripe and with totally lignified seeds. They gave rise to colourful and fragrant musts with the typical crunchiness of the great Sangiovese vintages.
Rosso di Montalcino 2020comes from the same ORGANIC vineyards as Brunello. The winemakers at CasatoPrime Donne, just before the harvest, divide the vineyards into small plots, by tasting the grapes. Those to be used for the Rosso di Montalcino must have a good component of polyphenols and potential alcohol but lower than those that will produce the wine destined for long aging. Rosso di Montalcino must in fact give satisfaction to those who drink it in the first years of life.
It is wonderful to see your wines in the Wine SpectatorInsider. 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>>.
Two years of Covid stand still and a super Vinitaly full of exhibitors and foreign buyers. The real protagonists are women: Donne del Vino… and not only
Obviously there are the masks, the access limits to the stands …. But Vinitaly restarts stronger than before and pleasantly different with a greater use of electronics in the intersection between wineries and foreign buyers. 4,400 companies, 19 nations, 700 top buyers, 17 pavilions, 30 conferences, 76 tastings.
We like it!
VINITALY 2022 FOR MY WINERIES – HALL 6 STAND D4
I have an invitation to the wonderful inaugural show dinner dedicated to La Grande Bellezza with dishes by Davide Oldani!
Robert Parket-Wine Advocate rewards the new Brunello’s by Donatella Cinelli Colombini with excellent ratings and also the Rosso di Montalcino with 90/100
Brunello-Prime-Donne-2017-Robert-Parker- 94/100
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. The tannins of the wine, the freshness, the flavour of the fruit, rich and harmonious, ensure that no element dominates the other. There is a crunchiness or a tension on the finish that underlines the quality of the Sangiovese of this vintage.
WINE TOURISTS ARE NOT ALL THE SAME AND DO NOT ALL HAVE THE SAME DESIRES
Donatella Cinelli Colombini, who invented the Cantine Aperte event and teaches wine hospitality in master courses, also knows that wine tourists are a small army made up of people with different profiles and expectations: there are those who are just intrigued, true enthusiasts and Brunello lovers , there are the insatiable eager for extraordinary exclusivity, but there is also those who want to spend their free time learning in a playful way. Wine tourists have changed compared to 2019, when no one knew about Covid, and above all they now want different things. Today, those who arrive in the wine territories are hunting foe emotions and want to immerse themselves in a pesticide-free countryside, cultivated by those who are passionate, traditionalists but also willing to share.
<< To this diversified multitude the vast majority of Italian wineries offer only one type of experience: visit between vats and barrels with an explanation of the production processes and tasting >> says Donatella << This is wrong>>.
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE: 4 EXPERIENCES FOR TOURISTS IN BRUNELLO
Here Cinelli Colombini moves from theory to practice and instead of just writing manuals on wine tourism, has decided to lead by example by designing 8 experiences for visitors in her wineries Casato Prime Donne in Brunello and Fattoria del Colle, in Chianti and in the Doc Orcia. Many of the tastings are accompanied by small samples of pecorino, extra virgin olive oil from the farm and unsalted Tuscan bread, therefore without salt.
4 proposals for those who arrive in Montalcino driven by different curiosities: some know little or nothing about wine and know Brunello almost only by hearsay. In this case, there is a simpler experience at a lower price. Then there are two proposals for wine lovers always looking for new emotions and new knowledge about Brunello: the first more focused on tasting – from the barrel to the great vintages – the second more unusual was studied by the Sommelier musician Igor Vazzaz, an itinerant tasting associated with music. Finally, there is something truly unique where Donatella has decided to personally participate. It includes the tasting of her most exclusive limited-edition Brunello, accompanied by cheeses that have won international awards.
A new and exciting project for those who love wine for long ageing and dream of having their corner in a prestigious winery in Montalcino
Realizing this dream as a wine lover and creating a community of new friends around it becomes possible with “Affina in cantina” – a project created and implemented by Vigneron.wine.
It is possible to buy the bottles now and leave them to refine in the Casato Prime Donne cellar in Montalcino, where there are ideal conditions of temperature, humidity and darkness.
REFINE YOUR WINE IN THE CELLAR – BECOME A PROTAGONIST IN THE LAND OF BRUNELLO
An experience for true enthusiasts that allows, even those who do not have an ideal place to cellar wine at home, to buy and store important bottles to drink, perhaps in a few years time, on an important day.
Those who buy will receive a certificate and their bottles will have a unique identification code so that they cannot be replaced and are always kept in a special space in the cellar. After 3-6 years, when the wine has reached the TOP quality, the wine lover will be able to collect them without other additional costs for their conservation even if the value of the wine will certainly have increased.
HAVE BOTTLES AGING AT CASATO PRIME DONNE, GO TO SEE THEM AND BE ABLE TO COLLECT THEM A FEW AT A TIME
Delivery will take place at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino or by requesting the shipment to your home (to be paid separately) even one bottle at a time.
There is also the Generali Italia insurance taken out by Vigneron.wine for the aging bottles in the event of breakage or damage. It covers 100% of their purchase value and half of the increase accrued over time.
DONATELLA AND VIOLANTE CINELLI COLOMBINI PROMISE TO KEEP THE BOTTLES CAREFULLY
On Vigneron.wine it is possible to consult the Wine Observatory which traces the increase in the value of wine over time. In addition, every friend, owner of bottles being aged at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino, has a reserved section “My Cellar” to manage the collection of his bottles.
On our part, we promise to take the utmost care of the bottles purchased by passionate friends with the “Affina in Cantina” project. They can come and see them and ask us for photos to check them out every now and then.
2017 harvest of Casato Prime Donne gave us a powerful and silky “Mediterranean” Brunello, that will perhaps give its best in the first 10-15 years of life
There is a famous phrase by Winston Churchill (statesman and Nobel Prize for Literature 1874-1965) that corresponds to the feeling of the Brunello winemakers in 2017 << not always to change is equivalent to improving, but to improve you have to change>>.
MONTALCINO REIGN OF THE GREAT SANGIOVESE IN 2017
In truth, Montalcino is among the wine districts most benefited by climate change and, even in 2017, it was spared from frosts and other climatic disturbances that affected other areas.
However, summer 2017 was scorching also in Brunello land. While the oak woods turned orange in the middle of summer, the grape growers at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino looked after the Sangiovese vineyards with the hoe helping them to overcome stress. In the end, the organic cultivation, which made the soil softer and more alive, as well as the reduction of the bunches and the management of the canopy to shade, have borne their fruit.
Few grapes but very good.
BRUNELLO 2017 HARVEST WITH EXTREME SELECTION OF GRAPES
The harvest was a painstaking work. The grapes were harvested by hand dividing the bunches of the two sides of the espaliers. Something slow, artisanal and very demanding both from an organizational and an economic point of view.
But <<to improve you have to change>> and maybe change means going back to the grandparents’ systems and recuperating from your memory the old vineyard practices. And here, as in the past, the winemakers first picked the less good grapes and then returned to the same vineyards to take the ones destined for Brunello. The winemakers Barbara Magnani has baptized this system <<reverse harvest>>.
The result is an extremely satisfying “Mediterranean” Brunello, with more alcohol and extracts than usual, but with a surprising freshness, an excellent pleasantness and a good persistence.
It will perhaps give its best in the first 10-15 years of life.
In 2017, Brunello Riserva was not produced and the Prime Donne selection was reduced to half of the normal amount. This has allowed us to raise the quality of the classic Brunello di Montalcino.
BRUNELLO 2015, SUPERTUSCAN IL DRAGO E LE 8 COLOMBE 2018 AND OUR ORCIA DOC LEONE ROSSO 2019 AT HOME
For relaxing moments at home, for those who love to experiment with dishes from all over the world and even mix and serve them during same dinner. For those who have fun and get excited by combining foods and wines from different cultures.
To these wine lovers we offer a 6-bottle carton with three family wines from Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s vineyards and matured in her cellars at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in southern Chianti in Tuscany. The carton will arrive directly at your home.
We propose again the Brunello di Montalcino2015 by Casato Prime Donne, a 5-star vintage, more ready to open now, for an evening with friends or for a romantic dinner for two. An extraordinary vintage that was celebrated even before going on the market, and where the climatic trend shows the characteristics of the best Brunello vintages. The international press awarded this wine with excellent ratings:
• “TRE BICCHIERI” Vini d’Italia 2021 – Gambero Rosso
• 95 James Suckling
• 94 Wine Spectator
• 94 Wine Advocate – Robert Parker
• 93 Decanter
• 92 Wine Enthusiast
• 90+ Vinous – Antonio Galloni
Il Drago e le 8 Colombe 2018 instead comes from the Fattoria del Colle where three varieties are used with creativity and produce a true IGT Toscana “signature wine”. Yes, it is dedicated to the all-female staff of our cellars, the 8 doves, but giving an important role to Carlo Gardini, the dragon, Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s husband, the only man who can have his say in the cellar!
The Leone Rosso Doc Orcia 2019 wine, a real preview, is dedicated to the ancestors of the owner who built the Fattoria del Colle and who had a rampant lion on their coat of arms. The grapes for the Leone Rosso Doc Orcia are born right here. This is a memorable harvest. Rated 5 stars for the perfect quality of the grapes.
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. The cultivation is organic, certified since 2018. Donatella Cinelli Colombini‘s estate already belonged to her ancestors in 1592. It is located in the northern area of Montalcino where the climate is cooler and the soils are colder and rich in clays.
Cultivation and harvesting are manual. Shortly before full ripening, the grapes are tasted to divide the vineyards into small parcels with homogeneous characters and to decide the harvest calendar. The area with the greatest qualitative potential is destined to the production of Brunello Riserva.
Those who arrive in Montalcino have different curiosities: there are those who know little or nothing about wine and know Brunello almost only by hearsay. Then there are the wine lovers always looking for new experiences and new knowledge about Brunello. Finally, there are those who want only exclusive, exceptional experiences made especially for them. Casato Prime Donne, in the northern part of the Brunello territory, offers 4 tailor-made experiences for these wine tourists making each of them live something exciting and different from any other winery.
CASATO PRIME DONNE A SPECIAL WINERY FOR SPECIAL CUSTOMERS
is a very special place: it is the first Italian winery with an all-female staff; it exports to 41 foreign countries and produces wines with very high ratings from the international press. But visitors find something more than a farmhouse from the late sixteenth century full of barrels and vats, there is the story of the history of Montalcino in images, there are installations by contemporary Tuscan artists, which allow you to experience wine in an unusual way. This wealth of different elements enriches the tourist route and has allowed the creation of 4 experiential visit proposals capable of exciting and surprising newcomers and very experienced Brunello enthusiasts too.
For detailed programs and to book just click on the site or call +39 3455495154
Rosso di Montalcino BIO (organic) from a 5-star harvest produced with artisan care at Casato Prime Donne, first Italian winery with an all-female staff
<<In my experience as a wine producer, which is now very long, I remember only two other harvests like this: 2010 and 2016>> said Donatella Cinelli Colombini, commenting the 2019 vintage. A confirmation that Montalcino has had an increasing frequency of excellent vintages thanks to climate change that seems to benefit inland Tuscany.
THE ROSSO DI MONTALCINO 2019 AND THE MORE AND MORE FREQUANT 5 STAR HARVESTS
There are also other changes; contrary to the past, the great harvests of the new millennium, generally, are also abundant in grapes and the vineyards are still in vegetation during the harvest days.
Another feature of 2019 and of the other great recent harvests in Montalcino is the small size of the berries and bunches. <<It seems Cabernet>> the oenologist Valérie Lavigne told Donatella, visiting the vineyards to decide the harvest calendar. A comment that does not do justice to Sangiovese, king of Tuscan oenology, but that had a touch of truth in it because, in 2019, Sangiovese di Montalcino behaved exactly like the most famous French variety by immediately giving a lot of colour to the must.
THE SAME SANGIOVESE AND THE TWO DIFFERENT WINES FROM MONTALCINO
Sangiovese 2019 harvest 4 days later – Montalcino-Casato-Prime-Donne-Tuscany
Rosso di Montalcino comes from the same Sangiovese vineyards where Brunello is born. The grapes are chosen to become one of the two wines based on the component of alcohol, acids and polyphenols that must be more abundant for the type of wine destined for long aging. Very few vines have the extraordinary versatility of Sangiovese in producing excellent young wines and refined bottles to be cellared
But to obtain the two types of wine it is essential to harvest the grapes by hand by dividing the vineyards, according to maturation, into small areas, to be harvested, vinified and aged in barrels separately. An impressive job and a great attention to detail, but it’s worth it, the result is amazing.
The Brunello that Donatella Cinelli Colombini gifted herself when she realized that her dream of creating a winery and a wine established in the wine world
Donatella Cinelli Colombini tells of how she climbed her mountain leaving the comfort of a family of established Brunello producers to create an estate of her own <<in 1998 my parents gave me two properties to renovate in Tuscany, but at the beginning there were no cellars and the vineyards were to be replanted. My small team asked me “if someone calls what must we say” and I replied “you say that we are Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s estates >> a starting point that took her far.
At that time she had many doubts because she remembered her grandfather Giovanni Colombini’s advice <<never give your name to a company because when it is sold it is like giving your identity away>>.
DONATELLA GRANDE DAME OF BRUNELLO BUT ALSO PASSIONATE AND VISIONARY
But Donatella wanted to make it and doubts turned into opportunities because already in 2010 she was able to harvest a great Brunello and six years later she was invited to present the Riserva version, at the most exclusive tasting in the world, the New York Wine Experience.
A dream come true and that had to be celebrated by transforming the recommendation of her grandfather into a proud statement “IOsonoDonatella” the “pasionaria”, the visionary one who focuses on women, the revolutionary one who opens the Italian cellars to tourists the Grand Dame of Brunello as Vinum has recently called her <<so this is the wine that talks about me>>.
A very small series is born with only her first name on the packaging that tells her past as an art historian and expert in medieval gold-smithing. On the glass bottle there is in fact a glitter shape that forms a ring with her gold logo in the centre as if it were a Gothic seal.
So far 4 vintages of Brunello IOsonoDonatella have been produced: 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015 because only the best harvests are used for these small selections of 600 or 1.300 bottles intended for an audience of enthusiasts looking for rare and high quality wines.
