By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, wine destination, Fattoria del Colle Trequanda, Casato Prime Donne Montalcino

Eric Guido, editor of Vinous, always has a serious, almost sullen expression, but he’s actually an extremely kind and passionate man. He loves wine and food, but also the people behind the bottles, and he himself loves working in the kitchen.

He tastes for Vinous, Antonio Galloni’s portal, which in just a few years has established itself as one of the most authoritative and objective voices in global wine press. This goal also stems from Galloni and Guido’s tireless and meticulous work in the wine regions.

Eric Guido‘s tasting of our Brunellos took place last November and was subsequently published on Vinous with a brief introduction. <<The Donatella Cinelli Colombini estate, run entirely by a female team, has been one of my favourites for many years. These wines always display class and elegance, and age surprisingly well despite their immediate appeal. The 2021s are no exception>>. How thrilling to read these words!

96/100 BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO IOSONODONATELLA 2019

This is a very small series of just 300 bottles produced with grapes from the Ardita vineyard. The wine matured in five to seven hectolitre oak barrels, while the vinification and pre-bottling period took place in bare concrete vats and egg-shaped tanks. Eric’s description is so beautiful that I’m copying it almost entirely here: << The Brunello di Montalcino IosonoDonatella 2019 is sleek and sensual, irresistible with its magnificent interplay of black cherries and crushed raspberries, enriched with nuances of mint, Earl Grey, and dried roses.…

L'articolo ERIC GUIDO REWARDS DONATELLA’S BRUNELLOS sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

This offer is designed for your Christmas party planning. Three different magnums to enjoy during moments of conviviality with family or friends (last bottles available). These bottles will also be appreciated as gifts by collectors of fine wines.

🎁 Along with the bottles, you will find: a beautiful resin coaster directly from our Toscana Lovers stores and created by Riccardo Marzi.

What’s special about this offer?

The value of a magnum bottle of wine lies in its excellent ability to preserve and evolve the wine, thanks to less contact with oxygen and its ability to withstand temperature changes better than a standard bottle. In addition to the qualitative benefits, the magnum format offers a strong visual impact on special occasions and makes a surprising and memorable gift.

Cenerentola and Foglia Tonda

Two grapes are used to produce Cenerentola DOC Orcia: Sangiovese and Foglia Tonda, both native. Sangiovese is the main grape variety in Tuscany, and in the Orcia denomination, it must comprise at least 60% of the total. In Cenerentola, it accounts for approximately 65%. The Foglia Tonda grape variety is genetically a descendant of Sangiovese. It has been cultivated in Tuscany since time immemorial and is mentioned in 19th-century sources in the Chianti Classico region. Foglia Tonda vines have also been identified in Siena’s historic urban vineyards. It is a late-ripening vine that loves heat and tends to be overly fertile, so its cultivation is primarily aimed at limiting grape production.…

L'articolo CHRISTMAS IS CLOSE, HERE ARE 2 BRUNELLO AND 1 ORCIA FOR YOU! sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Eric Guido is a young wine critic of enormous talent. For Vinous he tastes Italian wines, those from the Pacific coast, Paso Robles and Slovenia. He loves wine but also cuisine – especially Italian – and works in creative writing, copywriting, photography, digital editing. All at the highest levels

In January 2025 he tasted 4 wines from Fattoria del Colle and then published the opinions on Antonio Galloni Vinous’ portal. Two critics who don’t favour anyone and have built their reputation on integrity. This is why their opinions are important. Obviously, they serve the market by guiding purchases but above all they serve producers like me who want to understand if their stylistic choices are going in the right direction. And my choice is territoriality

VINOUS GIVES 90 POINTS TO DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI’S 2022 CHIANTI SUPERIORE DOCG

<<A vibrant mix of crushed cherries, mint and hints of pine shavings wafts from the 2022 Chianti Superiore. This is a juicy effort, with a core of crisp acidity that drives a nice balance of crisp mineral tones and berry fruit>>. The fragrant vinosity of this Chianti Superiore comes from the almost pure Sangiovese and the steel storage that leaves the grape’s characters intact.

VINOUS GIVES 94 POINTS  TO CENERENTOLA DOC ORCIA 2019 BY DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI

<<The 2019 Orcia Cenerentola is intense: it gradually unfurls with a smoky mix of crushed rocks, dried flowers and blackcurrant, complicated by an exotic spiciness that I find wildly attractive.…

L'articolo VINOUS GIVES 90, 94, 91, AND 90 TO CHIANTI, ORCIA AND VINSANTO sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, #winedestination, #brunellodimontalcino

Vinous is a wine review portal created by Antonio Galloni starting from “Piedmont Report” (2004). It is young but is establishing itself as one of the most authoritative repertoires of wine reviews

VINOUS THE WINE REVIEW PORTAL CREATED BY ANTONIO GALLONI

He has 12 collaborators including two Masters of Wine and Stephen Tanzer who has brought together his International Wine Cellar in the same portal. Eric Guido is entrusted with tasting wines from most of Italy, including Montalcino. Eric previously led wine and retail marketing for Morrell Wine Group and is also an expert in food and music.

After reading his comments we wrote to him saying  <<We are not surprised that you like the “Prime Donne” and the Brunello Riserva more which are more structured, but I hope you have seen the new search for purity and territoriality that characterizes all our wines. It’s a project we called “Vineyard First” and has been going on for five years. The most important change concerns the time of harvest. We harvest each parcel of vineyard on the exact day it reaches complete maturation. The result is that when we finish the harvest all the other Montalcino wineries are just beginning>>

In fact, the Vineyard First project has allowed us to produce wines that consumers like because they are pure; they communicate the grape variety, terroir and climate.…

L'articolo ERIC GUIDO FROM VINOUS AND THE NEW BRUNELLO 2020 AND RISERVA 2019 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.