IAN D’AGATA AND DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI’S BRUNELLO 2019
IAN D’AGATA’S TASTINGS OF BRUNELLO 2019 AND RISERVA 2018 AWARDS DONATELLA’S WINES WITH 93, 94 AND 93/100 AND OFFERS AN OVERVIEW OF MONTALCINO
Ian D’Agata is Italian by origin but grew up in Canada where his parents made him attend French language schools so Ian has three native languages. Gymnastics that then served him when he became a doctor and chose paediatrics and research, arriving at the most selective university in the world, Harvard Medical School. In short, he was a young genius of scientific research until he fell in love with wine and in this field too, he gave a masterful touch, directing his interest towards terroirs and native vines. His contribution concerns events and tastings but also highly successful books such as “The Ecco Guide to the Best Wines of Italy” and the monumental “Native Wine Grapes of Italy”. He is one of the world’s leading experts on the wines of Italy, Alsace, Bordeaux and Canada.
One wonders how he knows so many things and the answer is: he has a great memory and never sleeps. He is always moving from one nation to another and from one topic to another. When I prepared the Vinitaly tastings for the Donne del Vino with him, he responded to me at any time of day or night, always with funny and self-deprecating jokes. Obviously, the experience of medical research has left its mark on him: he doesn’t want generic data <<to say that a soil is made up of sand and clay is not enough without the percentages>> but then he knows how to sum up like few others, he decides and reaches the goal with a smile on his face, as if everything had been easy.