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Montalcino Tag

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

 

harvest-2021-Sangiovese-Casato-Prime-Donne-Montalcino-Violante-Cinelli-Colombini

harvest-2021-Sangiovese-Casato-Prime-Donne-Montalcino-Violante-Cinelli-Colombini

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

 

2017-Harvest-in-Montalcino-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

2017-Harvest-in-Montalcino-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

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

 

2017-Harvest-Casato-Prime-Donne-Montalcino-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini-with-sangiovese-bunches-of-grapes

2017-Harvest-Casato-Prime-Donne-Montalcino-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini-with-sangiovese-bunches-of-grapes

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

 

Special-selection-mix-of-flagship-wines-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

Special-selection-mix-of-flagship-wines-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

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.

 

Offer-Brunello-di-Montalcino-2017-and-Brunello-Riserva-2016-Casato-Prime-Donne

Offer-Brunello-di-Montalcino-2017-and-Brunello-Riserva-2016-Casato-Prime-Donne

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

 

Montalcino-fermentation-room-for-Brunello-Casato-Prime-Donne

Montalcino-fermentation-room-for-Brunello-Casato-Prime-Donne

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.

Brunello-di-Montalcino-Riserva-2016-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

Brunello-di-Montalcino-Riserva-2016-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

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

 

New-wine-experience-with-Brunello-at-Casato-Prime-Donne

New-wine-experience-with-Brunello-at-Casato-Prime-Donne

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

New-wine-experience-with-Brunello-at-Casato-Prime-Donne-tasting-room

New-wine-experience-with-Brunello-at-Casato-Prime-Donne-tasting-room

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

 

Rosso-di-Montalcino-2019-Casato-Prime-Donne-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

Rosso-di-Montalcino-2019-Casato-Prime-Donne-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

<<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

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

 

Offer-Brunello-Riserva-2015-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini-with-wineskin

Offer-Brunello-Riserva-2015-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini-with-wineskin

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

Brunello-riserva-2015-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

Brunello-riserva-2015-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

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

 

2021-Grape-Harvest-Tuscany-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini-Brunello

2021-Grape-Harvest-Tuscany-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini-Brunello

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.

2021-Grape-Harvest-Tuscany-Sangiovese-Casato-Prime-Donne-Montalcino

2021-Grape-Harvest-Tuscany-Sangiovese-Casato-Prime-Donne-Montalcino

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

 

Fattoria-del-Colle-Cenerentola's-entrance-murales

Fattoria-del-Colle-Cenerentola’s-entrance-murales

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

Orcia-Doc-Chianti-Supertuscan-wineries-Fattoria-del-Colle-Tuscany

Orcia-Doc-Chianti-Supertuscan-wineries-Fattoria-del-Colle-Tuscany

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

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

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

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.

 

Brunello Prime Donne 2016 in preview

2016 was the vintage of deep red wines.  Brunello Prime Donne by Donatella Cinelli Colombini expresses her philosophy of a return to the origins of this designation

 

Montalcino: fermentation room of Brunello at Casato Prime Donne

Montalcino: fermentation room of Brunello at Casato Prime Donne

In the spring of 2016 the vines budded 15 days sooner than usual, but the grape harvest took place at the beginning of October, more in line with the traditional calendar.  For the first time in the last twenty years Donatella Cinelli Colombini saw her grapes ripen in the old way. The accumulation of sugar in the grapes proceeded more slowly than the ripening of the polyphenols and everything happened very gradually thanks to the sunny days (only one storm on September 18th) and to the cold nights. When harvest time arrived the ripening was perfect both in the skin and in the grape pulp.
Sangiovese grapes able to produce long lasting, deep and complex wines. Very elegant wines with silky tannins and a great harmony. Wines that are similar to those that Donatella learned to love as a young woman with her grandfather Giovanni Colombini and that, now in fact, are vinified like long ago; in small unlined concrete vats, using autochthonous yeasts and punching down the caps with the plunger.

 

Brunello Prime Donne 2016 Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Brunello Prime Donne 2016 Donatella Cinelli Colombini

BRUNELLO PRIME DONNE SYMBOL OF FEMALE TALENT IN WINE

The Brunello Prime Donne is the symbol of the first winery in Italy to be all female staffed, Casato Prime Donne on the North-West slope of Montalcino. Three female winemakers work here – Barbara, Sabrina and Giada – plus an external consultant, Valérie Lavigne. The decisions regarding the selection, the ageing and the blending among various barrels, involve a panel of 4 female international super wine tasters: a wine store owner, a sommelier, and two Masters of wine: Astrid Schwarz, Daniela Scrobogna, Rosemary George MW with now the addition of the Swedish Madeleine Stenwreth MW.

FOR DONATELLA’S CLUB MEMBERS the extraordinary Brunello IOsonoDonatella

For the first time we are proposing to our Club of wine lovers the Brunello 2013 ultra premium, IOsonoDonatella, a signature edition of only 1000 bottles with the crest in gold and display box 

 

Offerta Io sono Donatella

Brunello Io Sono Donatella 2013

An exclusive “Fine wine”, a collector’s Brunello and an investment, limited to just 1000 bottles. Perfect for presents and special occasions.
Each bottle is packed in a single box upon which is reproduced the medieval Tuscan cloth called “tela di Pienza”. Opening the fan shaped box the bottle appears, decorated with a ring- shaped glitter design surrounding Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s crest in gold. This Brunello tells the story of Donatella Cinelli Colombini, descendant of a noble family from Siena in Tuscany, who before being a wine producer like her ancestors had studied the history of art. After having worked for years in the family winery, in 1998 Donatella created the estate that bears her name. Her parents gave her two properties, in Tuscany, that she has restored. In Montalcino, Casato Prime Donne has 17 hectares of vineyard and from where she produces some Brunello greatly appreciated by wine critics all over the world and exported to 39 nations. Among these the selection IOsonoDonatella is the most exclusive and precious Brunello. It was created starting with the 2010 vintage when Donatella understood that her dream of producing a great wine of international success had come true. It was later produced with the Brunello 2012 and 2013.

 

                                                                       
Cinelli Colombini
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