MONTALCINO’S TRIPE WITH SAFFRON
SAFFRON, AN EXOTIC AND PRECIOUS SPICE, GROWS SPONTANEOUSLY IN MONTALCINO, IT GROWS ON THE EMBANKMENTS , AND IS USED TO COOK TRIPE...
Montalcino Tag
Brunello di Montalcino 2018 BIO
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
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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 organically and 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.
Rosso di Montalcino 2021 from Casato Prime Donne
Donatella Cinelli Colombini presents Rosso di Montalcino 2021 born in an amazing vintage. Never before 4 super vintages one after another in Montalcino
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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.
93 and 93/100 to the two 2017 Brunellos 2017 by WS
Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator tasting director explains the 2017 harvest and rewards Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Brunellos with two 93/100
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It is wonderful to see your wines in the Wine Spectator Insider. 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>>.
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG 2017
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
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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.
OFFER: MIX OF FLAGSHIP WINES
For our wine loving friends a special selection from our two wineries and an exclusive online tasting with Donatella and Violante Cinelli Colombini
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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 Montalcino 2015 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.
OFFER: BRUNELLO 2017 AND RISERVA 2016 IN PREVIEW
Members of Donatella’s Club will be among the first in the world to taste Brunello 2017 and the wonderful 2016 Riserva from Casato Prime Donne winery
BRUNELLO RISERVA 2016 AND BRUNELLO 2017 AT YOUR HOME
To start the New Year as every great wine lover dreams of doing.
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Wine lovers from all over the world are waiting for the Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2016 which is considered one of the best harvests in the last century. In 2016, in the vineyards at Casato Prime Donne the vegetative cycle of the vines – from the budding to the harvest – was longer than usual, this gave birth to well balanced grapes and deep Brunello wines, and they are satisfying, refined and suitable for long aging.
The total respect for the grapes and the search for purity that characterizes all our work – from the vineyard to the bottle – will surprise you in the 2017 vintage. It is a very hot vintage where the grape growers have shown all their talent. They understood the needs of the Sangiovese vines, cultivating them organically, and helping them to endure the sun. The clayey and cold soil of Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s vineyards and a small amount of rain have allowed the production of grapes of excellent quality from which a Brunello was born, one that will surprise you with its pleasantness, elegance and silkiness.
Casato Prime Donne is a property of 40 hectares of which almost half are of Sangiovese vineyard. 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.
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA 2016
In the wonderful 2016 harvest, 5 stars, the best Brunello Riserva ever produced at Casato Prime Donne, apt for long cellaring
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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.
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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.
Casato Prime Donne revamps its experiences with Brunello
4 proposals for Brunello lovers who start or deepen their knowledge of Montalcino’s wines and for the fastidious who now know almost everything
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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
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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 DOC 2019 by Donatella
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
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<<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.
TOP WINE FOR THANKSGIVING 2021
October offer: 6 bottles of Brunello 2015 Riserva five star vintage. A great wine with which to celebrate autumn with friends and with the Thanksgiving roast turkey
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The Brunello di Montalcino 2015 Riserva is a fine red apt for long cellaring that can be stored for decades for an important occasion but also opened now to match with the Thanksgiving roasted turkey. Its velvety, powerful and refined character transforms autumn lunches into special occasions to always be remembered.
DON’T MISS THE OCCASION TO CELEBRATE WITH A FINE WELL-RATED WINE BY THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS
The Brunello Riserva 2015 has obtained exceptional rankings from the major international wine critics:
95 Wine Spectator
94 Wine Advocate – Robert Parker
94 Vinous – Antonio Galloni
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93 James Suckling
92 Wine Enthusiast
A SMALL PRESENT FOR THOSE WHO WILL BE TRAVELLING BY PLANE AND WANT TO TAKE A BRUNELLO WITH THEM TO CELEBRATE
Together with the 6 bottles of this wine, we will put into the case a wineskin, a sealed bubble wrap sachet that permits travelling with the bottles in your suitcase during flights, protecting them from damage and saving your clothes in case your suitcase is really badly treated.
FOR THE MEMBERS OF DONATELLA’S CLUB 6 BOTT. BRUNELLO 2015 RISERVA – WINE CELEBRATION BOX
Offer for Memebers 378,00 Euro (instead of 450,00 Euro)
For Club members who wish to double the order the deal is even better: 12 bottles of Brunello 2015 Riserva 736,00 Euro (instead of 900,00 Euro)
The price includes free shipping in Italy or 15 Euro discount for shippings abroad together with 1 wineskin
2021 grape harvest collage
Obsessive care in the choice of Sangiovese grapes: here is how the 2021 harvest is giving us small absolute excellences of Brunello apt for very long ageing
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by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
For years, vinifying a “single vineyard” has been a happy memory. The search for quality in grapes has become so maniacal that the harvest has become a patchwork that brings together small quantities of clusters of the same variety but with similar or completely opposite characteristics to balance each other.
<<Take the grapes from this corner, put them together with those from the vines from the central area of the vineyard next door and then move three parcels further on to take the rest to be vinified in the same vat>>. Barbara Magnani, the senior oenologist of my cellars, has the map of the harvest plan in her mobile phone so as not to miss the complicated collage.
HARVEST 2021- THE PATCHWORK HARVEST
They are all Sangiovese grapes from our vineyards. The new thing, compared to the past, is that they come from different areas and even from different sides of the espalier. The harvest has become similar to a treasure hunt where you use your mouth to select the grapes and the scales to weigh them in order to fill the vat in a single day exactly with the most homogeneous grapes.
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In the end we realized that winemaking vats over 100 hl no longer serve us and we will have to sell them to fill the fermentation hall with many small containers with a capacities of 20, 30, 50 hl but not larger. Visually it will be like the “house of the seven dwarfs” with many pot-bellied dwarfs. Something very different from the beautiful fermentation rooms in the past, with containers all the same size.
The “collage harvest” is very slow and very accurate <<to pick the grapes in this way it takes twice as long>> grumbles the head of the vineyards Efisio Luche struggling with the lack of staff that characterizes 2021.
BRUNELLO 2021 HARVEST
<<So you tell me that from June to now there have been only two rainfalls for a total of 31 mm of water I believe it, but the vineyard does not seem to have suffered thirst, because it is very well>> said our oenologist consultant Valérie Lavigne arriving on September 21 in the vineyards at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and ordering us to suspend the harvest of the Brunello grapes for a week. According to her, the quality of the 2021 grapes is higher than that of previous years and this has given us enthusiasm once again.
In Montalcino we are generally the first to pick while this year we will be the last. A choice that depends on the distance of about 20 days between the budding of the first buds and that of the last caused by a cold spell. The frost at the beginning of April is the main reason for the only major problem with the 2021 harvest: the scarcity of grapes. The secondary reason is the dry climate that has led to small bunches and berries. In the end there are few bunches and they have little juice so the yield in wine is below average.
In the grapes there is a beautiful high acidity almost all tartaric and this will give us very vertical and structured wines to the delight of lovers of Brunello for long aging. In fact, when the ripening phase lengthens in a period with cold nights, as has happened this year, we have Brunello of extraordinary aromatic richness and able to defy time. During the harvest the daytime temperature was close to 29 ° C, while at night it fell by 15°C.
WINE EXPERIENCE IN TUSCANY DURING THE EARLY SUMMER WEEKENDS
Wine experience at Fattoria del Colle in the heart of Tuscany to regenerate and learn about Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti and Orcia during the early summer weekends
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In the Tuscany of fine red wines, in an historic winery, unique and pleasant experiences such as guided tours with itinerant tastings, gourmet dinners with 3 courses perfectly matched with specific wines, the winemaker game, cheese making ….. Many engrossing moments to which can be added: hiking, photography safari, tastings in front of breathtaking views or walks with resting stops to enjoy the silence and perfumes of the countryside.
FATTORIA DEL COLLE IN AN UNCHANGED CORNER OF THE OLD TUSCANY
Fattoria del Colle (click to book) was born in 1592 as a rural hamlet that, during the centuries has been miraculously preserved and offers now holidays in apartments, rooms and villas. These are furnished with authentic furniture, a modern comfort in the welcoming simplicity of the countryside. Surround there are equipped parks, 23 swimming pools, a restaurant, banquet hall, cookery school and natural wellness area.
THE BRUNELLO, CHIANTI AND DOC ORCIA WINRIES AND THEIR INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS
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The most important thing is of course wine. The owner, Donatella Cinelli Colombini, created the first two Italian wineries with an all-female staff at Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda and Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino. A flagship for women’s oenology that in just 22 years has managed to produce a range of wines of absolute excellence, 9 of which with scores above 90/100 in the international specialized press and to export to 39 countries around the world.
WINE EXPERIENCE IN A WINERY FOR WEEKENDS AT THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER
The program that is offered to participants of the wine weekends at the beginning of summer, at Fattoria del Colle, includes four daily events: two guided tours dedicated to wine and history interspersed with tastings, a cheese experience and a dinner with three dishes combined with three wines capable of enhancing the flavours. The visits are unusual and surprising.
In the vegetable garden there are flowers and spontaneous essences of Tuscany that are served in salads by the farm restaurant but also pepper, Aglione, cola, wormwood … and many plants from which to learn … like the “consolida” with which the ancient casts were made. Even in the cellar visitors will find surprises, such as the immersive room in which to feel and see what happens in the vineyards at different times of the day and in different seasons.
Polenta or pulenda with mushrooms
Polenta or “pulenda”, as we say in Montalcino, to keep warm in the winter a dish that brings joy and can accompany Cenerentola because both stay by the fireplace
Ingredients for Polenta or Pulenda with mushrooms – Fattoria del Colle
by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
I adore hunting for mushrooms and in the woods around Fattoria del Colle it is easy to find them. It is very difficult for me to come home empty handed and there is no need for physical exertion either. Few porcini but many pinaroli, lecciaioli, bigine, cappelle del prete, paonazzi, ordinali, but no ovuli. I also enjoy cleaning them, when I have time. I do not eat many but I am very proud to offer them to friends especially with Pappardelle or polenta.
Polenta or “pulenda” as we say in Montalcino, is the food for when it is cold and when the North wind blows or when it snows. To cut it with a bit of thread is already a feast, if then you add a glass of Cenerentola Doc Orcia, the fairytale with the lit fireplace with the copper pot … hoping that the Prince Charming will arrive.
INGREDIENTS FOR POLENTA WITH MUSHROOMS
For 4 people
Polenta or Pulenda with mushrooms: preparing it at Fattoria del Colle
Easy, takes about an hour
500 g of corn flour – large grain, 15 g of extra virgin olive oil, a spoonful of coarse salt and 2 lt of water.
For the dressing: two garlic cloves, extra virgin olive oil, 500 g of mixed mushrooms (fresh or frozen), 500 g of pureed tomato, salt, grated Parmigiano.
PREPARING THE POLENTA WITH MUSHROOMS
Put the water in a pot, add the salt and bring to the boil. Add the oil and then the corn flour keep whipping until it comes to the boil again. Lower the flame and continue cooking while stirring for 50 minutes. You need patience and strength, and the job finishes in turning up the flame for a couple of minutes so that the polenta comes away from the rim of the pot. Pour it onto a wooden board and cut with a cotton thread then serve and eat still hot.
Brunello di Montalcino 2016 from Casato Prime Donne
2016 is a vintage like a marathon runner. Born form a very long vegetative cycle of the vines, Brunello 2016 has deep and exiting aromas, in the mouth it is silky and powerful. Apt for long cellaring
Montalcino – Casato Prime Donne – Brunello 2016
A 5 star vintage. Like the gestation period of a human being there is a process that brings the grapes to the day they are picked and it lasts a precise time, and varies only because of the climate, but generally made up of three 2-month phases for a total of 180 days.
In 2016 the budding of the vines took place 15 days sooner than normal and this should have brought forward the harvesting period by 15 days. Instead the biological cycles slowed down and the harvest took place at the usual time.
The ripening was perfect, like every grape grower dreams of. Sunny days, cold nights, only one storm on September 18th. Small clusters with small berries and a parallel evolution between skin and pulp that brought to the harvesting day with a perfect technical and poliphenolic ripening.
BRUNELLO 2016 AND DONATELLA RETURNS TO THE ORIGINS
For Donatella Cinelli Colombini and the Casato Prime Donne winery 2016 was a return to tradition, vinifying Brunello in concrete tanks with mechanized punching down of the cap of grape skins. Obviously these are up to the minute French tanks, as is the punch down mechanical system, but the procedure is the same as 500 years ago. The yeast too, that set off the fermentation, was authentically form Montalcino and has been selected at Casato Prime Donne through experimentation lasting seven years.
The return to tradition from long ago has coincided with a picking of the grapes based on a separation of the clusters according to their level of ripening. These are chosen one by one, by hand, in the vineyard as the old farmers used to do. A system that slows the harvesting times but allows the vinification of grapes that are all with the same character and later, the ageing in barrel or tonneaux most apt for the future Brunello. A “tailor made” job done by master craftspeople who create works of art in a bottle.