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

The most cautious opinion comes from Michael Godel, a great connoisseur of Brunello and Tuscan winemaking in general, who tasted the 2019 Orcia Doc Cenerentola in November 2024 when it was “better to continue waiting” as he himself wrote.

ORCIA DOC, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WINE IN THE WORLD

The other tastings were conducted in March 2026, and the score rises to 93-94 points. David Lawrason has words of high praise: “The nose is extraordinary, very expressive, with complexity from maturation and a mix of red and black fruits… It’s full-bodied, with pronounced acidity and a notable warmth from the 15% alcohol. The tannins are quite firm and drying, but not green. The length is excellent, verging on exceptional.”

Wow, what a beautiful comment.

Sara d’Amato—an ecologist, writer, and highly experienced sommelier—also delivers a thrilling description. “The result is elegant and generous, both in aromas and on the palate. The oak is expertly integrated, allowing fruit and spice to unfold harmoniously. The tannins are ripe and enveloping, in line with the growing sensation of warmth provided by the 15% alcohol in the finish, which offers excellent length.”

The 94/100 rating comes from John Szabo, Canada’s first Master Sommelier and author of the book Volcanic Wines, which helped the world rediscover the uniqueness and charm of wines born near smoking mountains.…

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Michael Godel is among the foreign wine critics who know Montalcino best. He often participates in Benvenuto Brunello and the Tuscan wine previews and has visited hundreds of wineries in this area. He loves Sangiovese but also greatly appreciates the Foglia Tonda variety for its acidic richness which makes the wines long-lived and fresh.

Our importer in Ontario, Bernard Stramwasser Les Sommelier sent us 11 sheets and 11 scores from Michael Godel on Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino, Leone Rosso Doc Orcia and 6 vintages of Cenerentola (based on Sangiovese and Foglia Tonda) from 2021 to 2001. They are published on Wine Align, the portal of the major Canadian wine experts.

BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG 2020 SCORE 93/100

Godel appreciated this wine and the respectful way in which it was vinified and matured, allowing the vintage to express itself without intervening in the cellar. The result is a good richness of extracts and a natural balance.

BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO PRIME DONNE 2020 SCORE 94/100

Brunello Prime Donne is selected during a blind tasting by a panel of 4 tasters, sommelier Daniela Scrobogna, wine expert Astrid Schwarz and two MWs: Madeleine Stenwreth and Rosemary George. The wine has more tannins than the other Brunello due to the French wood in which it matured. In Godel’s opinion it is a classic Brunello with good aging potential.…

L'articolo MICHAEL GODEL FROM CANADA SENDS US 11 EXCELLENT SCORES sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini #winedestination

Wine Align is a rating agency like Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s. These evaluate the banks while Wine Align judges the wines.

Obviously the experts are highly competent and completely independent: David Lawrason, John Szabo MS, Michael Godel, Sara d’Amato, Megha Jandhyala, S.J.D. and Janet Dorozynski, DipWSET, PhD who are the new entries in the group joined by Jason Solanki. Next to the profile of each taster there are the numbers of wines passed or failed which, roughly speaking, are a third of the total. So sending your bottles to Wine Align is a risk because criticism is very frequent but, when the opinion is positive, it has a tonic effect on the Canadian market and specifically in Ontario where Wine Align is based.

In this case I propose the 5 tasting results published on my Brunello di Montalcino 2018. All the critics gave similar scores, three of them 94/100 and two 93/100. The descriptions, however, are different and denote a certain difficulty in framing an “old style” harvest played more on elegance than on power. A vintage which, in my opinion, will be very long-lived but which many find extremely satisfying even now.

94/100 BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2018 THE OPINION OF MEGHA JANDHYALA, S.J.D.

Megda grew up in India and has a background in academic studies in law.…

L'articolo Brunello 2018 according to canadian tasters sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.