Montalcino Tag

BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO PRIME DONNE 2021 ORGANIC AND SINGLE VINEYARD

DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI’S FIRST “SINGLE VINEYARD” BRUNELLO IS THE PRIME DONNE SELECTION 2021

Sangiovese per il Brunello vendemmia 2021 Toscana Montalcino Casato Prime Donne

Sangiovese for the 2021 harvest Toscana Montalcino Casato Prime Donne

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. The vines’ growing cycles therefore began at different times, and the grapes therefore ripened at different times.

The bunches and berries were small and beautiful. But to pick them at the perfect moment of ripeness, the harvesters had to select them by hand, moving from one vineyard to another. It was a huge undertaking.

The very long ripening phase of this vintage created the foundation for the wines with excellent structure and with a particular vocation for long aging.

29 December 2025

EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: Brunello 2021 and Riserva 2020!

Would you like to receive a preview of three bottles of Brunello 2021 and three bottles of Riserva 2020 delivered directly to your home for €319.00?

Brunello di Montalcino 2021 e Brunello Riserva 2020 Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Casato Prime Donne, Montalcino Toscana

Brunello di Montalcino 2021 e Brunello Riserva 2020 Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Casato Prime Donne, Montalcino Tuscany

This is a unique opportunity for true wine lovers. We’re delighted to present a preview of two extraordinary new vintages of Brunello di Montalcino from Casato Prime Donne by Donatella Cinelli Colombini.

These wines are released on January 1st, so those who participate in this offer will be among the first in the world to taste them and share them with friends.

🍇 Offer of the Month – For Members of Donatella’s Club

3 bottles of Brunello 2021

3 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2020

+ brochure with a map and information about the Montalcino area

Price: €319.00 instead of €370.00

For those who double up

€624.00 instead of €740.00

18 December 2025

ORGANIC BRUNELLO 2021 BY DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI

A YEAR THAT STARTED BADLY, WITH A LIGHT SPRING FROST, BUT ENDED WELL WITH AN EXTENDED RIPENING PERIOD THAT GIVES US A BRUNELLO FOR LONG AGEING .

Montalcino, Toscana, vendemmia 2021 Casato Prime Donne

Montalcino, Toscana, 2021 harvest Casato Prime Donne

Casato Prime Donne is usually the first to harvest Brunello grapes, but in 2021, it was among the last to harvest in Montalcino.

This is a very strange year, beginning with the disappointment of the frost that struck all of Europe’s vineyards. In our vineyards, it burned the tips of the first shoots and delayed the opening of those that were still covered when the cold wind arrived. This had two effects: a reduction in grape production and uneven ripening. Indeed, bud break marks the beginning of a vegetative cycle that lasts about six months. The 20-day gap between the first and last shoots resulted in uneven ripening. The result was a very labour-intensive harvest, requiring us to harvest each parcel separately and even go through the same vineyard multiple times, selecting bunch by bunch. This was a painstaking task, entirely done by hand by the pickers.

2021: THE LONG, CAREFUL, AND SPECTACULAR BRUNELLO HARVEST

Most of the harvest was therefore postponed to the end of September.

The bunches resembled those of Pinot Noir: small, open, and with miniature berries.

The heat and drought were also severe, with only two rains totalling 31 mm of rain from June to September, and peaks of over 40°C mid-August. However, paradoxically, the Sangiovese vines ripened in perfect health. The extraordinary resilience of Sangiovese stems from its millennia-old history in this area. Its DNA contains the effects of the Roman optimum, when temperatures were warmer than today, as well as the small glaciations of the Middle Ages and the 19th century.

The 2021 harvest was therefore poor in grapes but the 2021 Brunello will delight lovers of long-aging reds, as always happens when the ripening phase takes place in a period with cold nights, as happened this year

9 December 2025

EXPERIENCE WITH MYSTERIOUS WINES AT CASATO PRIME DONNE

THE CASATO PRIME DONNE WINERY IN MONTALCINO OFFERS 5 TOURIST EXPERIENCES FOR 2026. THE NEW ONE TESTS VISITORS WITH COVERED BOTTLES OF BRUNELLO AND NOT ONLY

Casato Prime Donne esperienze turistiche 2026

Casato Prime Donne 2026 experiences for visitors

All the wineries in Montalcino are beautiful, but Casato Prime Donne is unique because the vineyards are more than just vines and the cellars are more than just barrels. In the first Italian winery with an all-female staff, which also achieved gender certification in 2025, wine lovers will find many surprises and experiences that will enthral even the most experienced.

THE EXCEPTIONALITY OF A VISIT TO THE CASATO PRIME DONNE WINERY

Contemporary works of art enrich the marvellous landscape of the Val d’Orcia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004. Alongside, dedications by great women help you reflect and recharge, amplifying the benefits of walking amidst nature preserved by organic farming.

In the winery, painted images and videos tell the story of Montalcino and its people’s sense of belonging. A different way to understand Brunello and discover how only there could a unique and extraordinary wine be born, the fruit of a land and a people with a strong character.

27 October 2025

CHRISTMAS IS CLOSE, HERE ARE 2 BRUNELLO AND 1 ORCIA FOR YOU!

cenerentola 2019 DOC Orcia, Brunello di Montalcino 2020, sottobottiglia in resina artigianale

Would you like to receive this offer of 3 Magnums for €264.00 directly at your home?

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. It takes its name from its almost circular, lobed leaves. The bunches are cylindrical and compact. They ripen later than the Sangiovese. In the wine, the Sangiovese Foglia Tonda blend combines the vertical elegance of the first with the greater power of the second, which adds colour and polyphenols.

Brunello Prime Donne

A flagship wine for female winemaking! This wine comes from Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Casato Prime Donne winery and is selected by a panel of international tasters: two Masters of Wine, Rosemary George from England and Madeleine Stenwreth from Sweden, as well as Astrid Schwarz and Daniela Scrobogna. The tasters blindly taste the wines from the different vineyards and then

decide on the type of barrels to use, the length of maturation, and the blend between the different varieties. Today, Brunello Prime Donne is exported to 44 countries worldwide and is a symbol of courage, ethical values, and challenging clichés.

The 3 magnums included in the offer: Cenerentola 2019, Brunello di Montalcino 2020, Brunello Prime Donne 2018

Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello is produced in Montalcino, the world’s best area for the Sangiovese grape. This grape variety has been cultivated in Montalcino for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. Thanks to the climate and soil, it has developed specific characteristics: it produces small grapes, with small clusters and small berries. This makes it possible to create a great, long-aging red wine in Montalcino, like Brunello, using just one grape variety: Sangiovese

🍇 Offer of the Month – For Donatella Club Members

– 1 bottle of Cenerentola 2019 Magnum Organic

– 1 bottle of Brunello Prime Donne 2018 Magnum Organic

– 1 bottle of Brunello di Montalcino 2020 Magnum Organic

– 1 resin coaster, an expression of Tuscan creativity

21 August 2025

Offer: two vintages, one passion for Rosso di Montalcino

Would you like this offer featuring two vintages of Rosso di Montalcino for €264.00 delivered directly to your home?

This offer focuses on Rosso di Montalcino, a wine appreciated for its fragrance and freshness! 10 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino from two vintages and two different sizes: the 2023 Rosso di Montalcino in a 0.750 Liter bottle and the 2022 Rosso di Montalcino in a 1.5 liter magnum (last bottles available).

🎁 together with the bottles you will find: a corkscrew with the logo of the Donatella Cinelli Colombini winery

New monthly offer with Rosso di Montalcino, Casato Prime Donne

What’s special about this offer?

This is a special opportunity to receive two Rosso di Montalcino wines from different vintages, made with Sangiovese from the organic vineyards of Casato Prime Donne belonging to Donatella Cinelli Colombini. The two sizes allow you to choose the occasion for which to open them. An ideal wine for the last days of summer and autumn, for aperitifs, lunches, dinners, and parties. For events with a few close friends, or for a real celebration! Extraordinary: the white-label bottles allow you to personalize a gift for friends or family with a special dedication!

🍇 Offer of the Month – For Donatella Club Members

4 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino 2023, 0.75 litres

4 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino 2023 with customizable white label, 0.75 litres

2 Magnums of Rosso di Montalcino 2022, 1.5 litres

4 gift bags + 4 tissue papers + 4 package seals

1 personalized corkscrew

24 July 2025

POLPETTE AVVOLTE OR CABBAGE ROLLS

AN OLD AND TRADITIONAL DISH FROM THE TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE. NOT VERY CHOREOGRAPHIC, BUT VERY TASTY, IT NEEDS DECORATED TABLEWARE TO SHOW IT AS BEAUTIFUL AS WELL AS GOOD

In Montalcino, “pulpette avvolte” are the traditional sandwich for the “festa dei Bianchi”, namely of the Misericordia, the last Sunday in August. In reality, they are very tasty rolls, while the real polpette avvolte are a humble but tasty dish that is prepared in spring and autumn when the cabbages are ready in the garden.

It has the advantage of being able to be prepared the day before and heated up at the last moment, bringing an ancient and intense flavour to the table

INGREDIENTS OF TUSCAN WRAPPED MEATBALLS

Ingredients for cabbage rolls – Fattoria del Colle, Trequanda – Tuscany

For 4 people: 15 cabbage leaves, 500 g of minced meat, 100 g of salted pancetta, 1 egg, 50g of Parmigiano cheese, half

a glass of white wine and half a glass of milk, two slices of bread, salt, pepper, a sprinkling of nutmeg

1 July 2025

TOPINI FROM MONTALCINO

MEAT-STUFFED ZUCCHINI FLOWERS TRADITIONAL IN THE FARMHOUSES OF MONTALCINO, KNOWN AS TOPINI BECAUSE THEY ARE ROUND AND HAVE A TAIL

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Fattoria del Colle, Casato Prime Donne

Until fifty years ago Montalcino was a poor town where families ate little meat and lots of vegetables because everyone had a vegetable garden. For this reason, the little beef was often boiled, which was mixed with sausages and rigatino to then be stuffed with onions, artichokes, courgettes, potatoes … depending on the season of the year. Housewives had in fact managed to invent delicious dishes that fed even the largest and poorest families. Today stuffed zucchini flowers or topini, as they are called in the Montalcino lexicon, are a delicious rarity. In fact, although they are delicious to eat and can be prepared in advance and then served after heating them in the oven they require a long preparation time. This circumstance discourages young people with very little time available.

12 June 2025

ROSA DI TETTO 2024 IGT TOSCANA ROSATO BIOLOGICO-ORGANIC

ROSA DI TETTO 2024 MARKS A RETURN TO THE OLDEST TUSCAN TRADITION OF ROSE’ WINE, THAT OF THE COLOURFUL WINES THAT FARMERS MADE IN SECRET

Rosé wines intense enough to accompany the entire meal and soft enough to be drunk cold.

Fattoria del Colle has been producing rosé wines for over forty years but in 2024, for the first time, part of the grapes for this wine come from the Montalcino vineyards of Casato Prime Donne. A circumstance that gives greater structure to the Rosa di Tetto.

ROSA DI TETTO IGT TOSCANA

The choice to produce a more structured rosé stems from the international success of this type and the demand for rosés with greater personality and aging capacity. A change that coincided with a return to the origins, inspired by the “acquati” produced by Tuscan farmers since time immemorial. Those of a century ago were fragrant but poor-quality rosés obtained by stealing a part of the must at the beginning of fermentation or by refermenting the marc. They were therefore poor wines.

30 May 2025

UPGRADE OF A CORNER OF FATTORIA DEL COLLE

DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI GIVES IN TO GLOBAL WARMING AND PUTS AIR CONDITIONING IN THE ROOMS AND APARTMENTS THAT RESEMBLE THE HOUSES OF TUSCAN GRANDPARENTS

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

The backs of Tuscan farms were traditionally used for artisanal activities: the blacksmith, the oil mill, the laundry… Fattoria del Colle is no exception and on the ground floor, behind the sixteenth-century villa, it had the olive grove, the workshop and the wagon shed and the wash houses. It seems like a more modest part compared to the facades but it is not.

1 May 2025

ANCHOVIES WITH PARSLEY AND AGLIONE PESTO

AN APPETIZER FULL OF FLAVOUR AND MEMORIES THAT REPRESENTS THE MOST REAL AND FAMILIAR TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE ONLY WITH AGLIONE INSTEAD OF GARLIC

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, #winedestination, Fattoria del Colle, Casato Prime Donne

Anchovies with parsley and Aglione from Valdichiana – Toscana, Trequanda, Fattoria del Colle

The simplicity of certain preparations brings with it the flavour of old Tuscan farms, of the ancient wisdom of gestures. Perhaps it is precisely the authenticity of what has not changed over the centuries that gives us back the experience of the past. For this reason, I invite you to prepare anchovies with parsley pesto as Nunziatina did, that is, Annunziata Ferretti, matriarch of her family and head housewife in the kitchen of my Colombini grandparents’ house in Montalcino.

FROM CLASSIC PESTO TO PESTO WITH AGLIONE

There are four recommendations: the extra virgin olive oil must be the one pressed a few months ago using organic olives picked early by hand. Just like the one made in Fattoria del Colle.

16 April 2025

Rosso di Montalcino DOC 2023 BIO-Organic

THE SCARCEST HARVEST IN MEMORY, IT HAD A SLOW AND GRADUAL RIPENING WHICH PUT INTO THE GLASS A ROSSO DI MONTALCINO WITH VERY CLASSIC CHARACTERISTICS

Casato Prime Donne Montalcino vendemmia 2023 Violante CinelliColombini mostra il lettore ottico

Casato Prime Donne Montalcino 2023 harvest Violante CinelliColombini shows the optical reader

For Donatella Cinelli Colombini, the 2023 harvest was <<the most difficult harvest of my life, with my husband Carlo in hospital in Malta and my daughter Violante who directed the harvest alone flying back and forth from Valletta>>.

Added to this were the rainfalls in spring and summer, the attacks of downy mildew and 3 small hailstorms.

In the end, few grapes arrived in the cellar, half the amount of the previous year, but of excellent quality. The Sangiovese grapes showed perfect analytical values. A new selector with optical reader completed the grape selection work by choosing only the best, berry by berry, with the utmost attention.

THE 2023 VINTAGE

After a very dry 2022, a very rainy 2023 arrived. It rained in winter and especially in spring with a June like a universal deluge. Even in summer, very hot days alternated with thunderstorms. The grapes changed colour at the end of August and then the ripening had a slow and regular character. An old-fashioned climate that gives rise to very classic wines.

CASATO PRIME DONNE IN MONTALCINO

Casato Prime Donne is all organically grown. It is located on the northern side of Montalcino on the slopes of the Montosoli hill. The vineyards surround the old farmhouse that gives its name to the property and belonged to Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s ancestors at least since the end of the sixteenth century.

2 January 2025

BRUNELLO RISERVA 2019 ORGANIC CASATO PRIME DONNE

THE 2019 VINTAGE SEEMS BORN TO CHALLENGE TIME AND TO BECOME BRUNELLO RISERVA. GRAPES SO PERFECT THAT NEEDED ONLY PATIENCE

There are vintages that seem born to produce wines capable of defying time and 2019 is one of them.

These are the harvests in which the grapes arrive in the cellar so perfect that they don’t need anything, just attention and patience.

Brunello 2019 is celebrated by critics and consumers as one of the best vintages of the last 20 years and in the Riserva version it finds its most enthusing expression for the silky harmony that hides a powerful structure.

Contrary to what usually happens in the best harvests, 2019 was abundant. A circumstance that also occurred in the legendary 2010 vintage and reveals how global warming has changed the internal balance of plants. In both of these vintages the vines were still in vegetation at the time of the harvest. This is also a rare but very favourable feature.

27 December 2024

Exclusive Preview: Brunello 2020 and Riserva 2019!

Do you want to receive 3 bottles of Brunello 2020 and 3 bottles of Riserva 2019 preview directly at home for € 324,00 ?

An unrepeatable opportunity for true connoisseurs. We are pleased to present a preview of two new extraordinary vintages. These two wines will be released on the market on January 1st so whoever makes the most of this offer will be among the first in the world to taste it and offer it to friends. An exclusive privilege for members of our Club.

This offer is for those who want to start the new year with the right wines to celebrate any special occasion!

As gifts, you will receive a vacuum pump to remove the air from the bottles and a wine skin to carry your favorite

Dal casato Prime Donne le nuove annate del Brunello e della Riserva in un'offerta speciale

Nuove annate Brunello di Montalcino

wine wherever you go.

The 2019 harvest is to be considered one of the best Montalcino harvests with perfect grapes for the production of a great aging Brunello. The 2020 vintage, however, is reminiscent of the splendid 2015. They are two vintages that are part of the “Vineyard first” project where we make every effort to pick the grapes as soon as they are ready and we develop a system to choose the harvest day based on the tasting of the grapes and on the day in which the quantity of total polyphenols begins to decrease.

OFFER FOR MEMBERS OF DONATELLA’S CLUB

3 bottles of Brunello 2020 in preview
3 bottles of Brunello Riserva 2019 in preview
1 wine saving pump
1 Wine Skin to transport your wine in style

7 November 2024