Sangiovese Tag

14 April 2022

Cenerentola Orcia Doc 2018

First certified BIO organic vintage of Doc Orcia Cenerentola for a year of giant stature. An intense, complex, velvety and impressive wine like a thick silk velvet, which reveals a superior consistency to the touch

Toscana-Orcia-Doc-Cenerentola-2018-Fattoria-del-Colle-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

A surprising result in a surprising year that asked the winemakers for all their commitment. In spring they also worked on Sundays to keep the grapes healthy from the attacks of downy mildew triggered by the alternation between rain and very hot days. Even the flowering was disturbed by the perturbations causing the reduction in the size and number of the clusters.

THE CRAZY CLIMATE OF 2018 A YEAR OF INCESSIVE RAIN

The number of rainy days in 2018 is impressive: 16 in January, 16 in February, 20 in March, 11 in April and 18 in May. The amount of rain was also impressive. At the end of May, the Fattoria del Colle was also hit by a “water bomb” which flooded the historic cellar where the barrels are located. After mid-August, an icy perturbation arrived that whitened the mountains and stiffened the cells of the grape skins.

2018 VINTAGE BLESSED BY THE SUN OF SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER

Meteorologists had predicted a sunny September but after a summer with an umbrella no one believed them.

Grape-Harvest-2018-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

Instead the sun came, giving a helping hand to the harvest. The vines were de-leafed in the “old way” and the calibre of the berries returned to normal and the accumulation of sugar gradually increased.
In Donatella Cinelli Colombini‘s vineyards we bet on the sun and decided to do a harvest like our “grandparents, as was the custom 50 years ago. We picked the least promising grapes first, leaving the best in the sun as long as possible. A heart-pounding situation because of the adverse weather forecasts which, fortunately, turned out to be wrong. The harvest proceeded in the sun. The rain came the day after the harvest ended. The quality of Cinderella 2018 is in our winemaker courage.

22 February 2022

in Forum: News and lifestyle

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

Donatella Cinelli Colombini, puts into practice new wine tourism

Donatella Cinelli Colombini, once again innovator, offers “tailor-made” wine experiences to satisfy the different types of wine tourists post-covid

Wine-tourism-2022-Trekking-in-the-vineyards-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

WINE TOURISTS ARE NOT ALL THE SAME AND DO NOT ALL HAVE THE SAME DESIRES

Donatella Cinelli Colombini, who invented the Cantine Aperte event and teaches wine hospitality in master courses, also knows that wine tourists are a small army made up of people with different profiles and expectations: there are those who are just intrigued, true enthusiasts and Brunello lovers , there are the insatiable eager for extraordinary exclusivity, but there is also those who want to spend their free time learning in a playful way. Wine tourists have changed compared to 2019, when no one knew about Covid, and above all they now want different things. Today, those who arrive in the wine territories are hunting foe emotions and want to immerse themselves in a pesticide-free countryside, cultivated by those who are passionate, traditionalists but also willing to share.

Wine-tourism-2022-Casato-Prime-Donne-winery-in-Montalcino

<< To this diversified multitude the vast majority of Italian wineries offer only one type of experience: visit between vats and barrels with an explanation of the production processes and tasting >> says Donatella << This is wrong>>.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE: 4 EXPERIENCES FOR TOURISTS IN BRUNELLO

Here Cinelli Colombini moves from theory to practice and instead of just writing manuals on wine tourism, has decided to lead by example by designing 8 experiences for visitors in her wineries Casato Prime Donne in Brunello and Fattoria del Colle, in Chianti and in the Doc Orcia. Many of the tastings are accompanied by small samples of pecorino, extra virgin olive oil from the farm and unsalted Tuscan bread, therefore without salt.
4 proposals for those who arrive in Montalcino driven by different curiosities: some know little or nothing about wine and know Brunello almost only by hearsay. In this case, there is a simpler experience at a lower price. Then there are two proposals for wine lovers always looking for new emotions and new knowledge about Brunello: the first more focused on tasting – from the barrel to the great vintages – the second more unusual was studied by the Sommelier musician Igor Vazzaz, an itinerant tasting associated with music. Finally, there is something truly unique where Donatella has decided to personally participate. It includes the tasting of her most exclusive limited-edition Brunello, accompanied by cheeses that have won international awards.

18 February 2022

in Forum: News and lifestyle

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

OFFER: BRUNELLO PRIME DONNE 2017 TO TASTE, TO GIFT AND TO PAIR

Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne is produced only in the best vintages. It is a small selection of about 3,000 bottles destined for high-level restaurants and wine bars around the world

Offer-Brunello-Prime-Donne-DOCG-2017-recipe-booklet-and-apron

BRUNELLO PRIME DONNE: THE FIRST BRUNELLO PRODUCED AND DESIGNED FOR WOMEN

In fact, the winery that produces it, Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino, is the first in Italy with an all-female staff, including winemakers, and is the first long cellaring red wine that is followed, from birth to bottling, by a panel of 4 very expert international tasters: a winemaker Astrid Schwarz, a sommelier Daniela Scrobogna, and two Masters of Wine Rosemary George and Madeleine Stenwreth. It is they who choose the wine from the different Sangiovese Brunello vineyards, decide the type of oak barrels and finally the blend of the wine from several wooden casks.

Obviously, Brunello Prime Donne is also very popular with men and has excellent ratings in the main international press. This is a gastronomic wine that should be accompanied with important dishes such as large pieces of roast meat, aged cheeses, and game.

The 2017 vintage was characterized by two climatic events: a frost at the end of April that hit almost the entire European vineyard, leaving Montalcino miraculously unharmed, and a very hot summer with 10 consecutive days in August with a temperature of 43 ° C. The latter event also touched the Brunello vineyard.

6 BOTTLES OF BRUNELLO PRIME DONNE 2017, DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI’S RECIPE BOOKLET AND APRON DELIVERD TO YOUR HOME

Furthermore, on this occasion, the Fattoria del Colle wants to become part of your kitchen. Especially for you, an apron made of Tuscan fabric. Wearing this you will prepare dishes that remind you of the delicious typical Tuscan cuisine. Speaking of which, we also include a booklet with 16 recipes that will allow you to cook traditional and modern Tuscan dishes, such as baccalà alla fratina, pinci, panforte and latte in piedi.

25 January 2022

in Vines and wines

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

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

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.

21 January 2022

in Vines and wines

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

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

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.

4 January 2022

in Vines and wines

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

Leone Rosso 2019 Doc Orcia

Leone Rosso 2019 Doc Orcia 5 stars with Sangiovese and Merlot in a small and exclusive production born in the vineyards, vinified and aged at Fattoria del Colle

Leone-Rosso-Doc-Orcia-2019-Fattoria-del-Colle-Donatella-Cinelli Colombini

Leone Rosso Doc Orcia wine is dedicated Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s ancestors who built Fattoria del Colle in 1592 and had a rampant lion in their coat of arms. The grapes for the Leone Rosso Doc Orcia are born right in the vineyards of the farm.

A RED LION, SYMBOL OF THE ANCESTORS WHO FOUNDED THE ESTATE IN 1592

This is the Socini or Sozzini family composed of jurists and philosophers. Two of them – Lelio (1525-1562) and Fausto (1539-1604) – went down in history for having played an important role among the European free thinkers who gave birth to Protestantism.
It was precisely their opposition to the Church that led the family to ruin and the Colle farm to be confiscated. The property was bought back by Donatella’s great-grandfather, the engineer Livio Socini around 1919 who almost by chance, gained it from a bankruptcy. When he visited it he realized that in the chapel and in the villa there were his identical coats of arms and understood that fate had put back in his hands, after 400 years, the farm founded by his ancestor Claudio Socini.

2019-Grape-Harvest-Fattoria-del-Colle-Tuscany

A mysterious thread with the past that Donatella Cinelli Colombini also felt when her father Fausto gave her the Fattoria del Colle in 1998.

LEONE ROSSO DOC ORCIA 2019

2019 is a memorable harvest. Classified 5 stars for the perfect quality of the grapes: small bunches small, ripe and healthy berries. An impressive amount of noble substances that, from the skins of the grapes, went into the must colouring it in a few hours and which were then extracted through a longer maceration than usual.

DOC ORCIA THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WINE IN THE WORLD

The Orcia denomination was born on February 14, 2000 in the hills that are located in the middle of the Brunello and Vino Nobile territories. A beautiful area of southern Tuscany, inscribed since 2004, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to the agricultural landscape preserved over the centuries.
This is why the Doc Orcia is defined as “the most beautiful wine in the world”.
It is also the proximity to two great DOCG wine – Nobile and Brunello – that has pushed Orcia producers to grow qualitatively very quickly and create a distinctive identity towards the millions of tourists and hikers, especially foreigners, who arrive in the area attracted by the beauty of the places and the goodness of the wines.

28 December 2021

in Vines and wines

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

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

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.

9 December 2021

in Farm experiences, Vines and wines

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

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

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

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

2 December 2021

in Farm experiences

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

4 new experiences for visitors, wine lovers and true experts

Visits with wine tasting and more, proposals that entertain and teach in an unusual and new way at the wine destination Fattoria del Colle

wine-experiences-at-Fattoria-del-Colle-in-Trequanda-Tuscany

Those who are tired of going to the cellars and being told about the wine production process should come to the Fattoria del Colle and will discover a wine destination with 400 years of history that makes you live exciting experiences and transfers knowledge in a fun way, for the sole fact of being in and touching them.

NEW DIVERSIFIED WINE EXPERIENCES FOR TOURISTS AND WINE LOVERS

Fattoria del Colle is in the Southern Tuscany, 18 km from the A1 Valdichiana motorway exit. It produces Chianti Superiore and Doc Orcia wines and, together with the Montalcino winery Casato Prime Donne, is owned by Donatella Cinelli Colombini.

wine-experiences-at-Fattoria-del-Colle-in-Trequanda

It is therefore the great wine for cellaring that is the protagonist of 4 different tourist proposals designed for those who love the Tuscan countryside and want to discover its roots. Or, for those who are passionate about wine and want to try their hand at experiences different from those proposed by other wineries, they can create their own Supertuscan. Finally, for super wine lovers, a full immersion in the history, cultivation and specificity of Sangiovese with a two-hour lesson held by Wset teachers or professional Sommeliers together with educational visits and guided tastings.

FOR LOVERS OF THE COUNTRYSIDE, WINE LOVERS AND FOR GREAT CONNOISSEURS 4 TAILOR-MADE PROPOSALS

All framed by olive groves and vineyards in the most beautiful countryside in the world and with the opportunity to meet the 3 wine makers of the all-female staff of Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s cellars. A lot of tradition and a lot of contagious passion for the great Brunello, Chianti, Supertuscan and Orcia wines.

For information and bookings click on: https://www.cinellicolombini.it/en/tuscany-wine-destination

25 November 2021

in Vines and wines

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

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

<<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.

11 November 2021

in Vines and wines

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

IOsonoDonatella Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2015

The Brunello that Donatella Cinelli Colombini gifted herself when she realized that her dream of creating a winery and a wine established in the wine world

IOsonoDobatella-2015-Brunello-di-Montalcino-Casato-Prime-Donne

Donatella Cinelli Colombini tells of how she climbed her mountain leaving the comfort of a family of established Brunello producers to create an estate of her own <<in 1998 my parents gave me two properties to renovate in Tuscany, but at the beginning there were no cellars and the vineyards were to be replanted. My small team asked me “if someone calls what must we say” and I replied “you say that we are Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s estates >> a starting point that took her far.

At that time she had many doubts because she remembered her grandfather Giovanni Colombini’s advice <<never give your name to a company because when it is sold it is like giving your identity away>>.

DONATELLA GRANDE DAME OF BRUNELLO BUT ALSO PASSIONATE AND VISIONARY

But Donatella wanted to make it and doubts turned into opportunities because already in 2010 she was able to harvest a great Brunello and six years later she was invited to present the Riserva version, at the most exclusive tasting in the world, the New York Wine Experience.

Montalcino-Casato-Prime-Donne-Ardita-Vineyard-Sangiovese

A dream come true and that had to be celebrated by transforming the recommendation of her grandfather into a proud statement “IOsonoDonatella” the “pasionaria”, the visionary one who focuses on women, the revolutionary one who opens the Italian cellars to tourists the Grand Dame of Brunello as Vinum has recently called her <<so this is the wine that talks about me>>.

A very small series is born with only her first name on the packaging that tells her past as an art historian and expert in medieval gold-smithing. On the glass bottle there is in fact a glitter shape that forms a ring with her gold logo in the centre as if it were a Gothic seal.
So far 4 vintages of Brunello IOsonoDonatella have been produced: 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015 because only the best harvests are used for these small selections of 600 or 1.300 bottles intended for an audience of enthusiasts looking for rare and high quality wines.

22 October 2021

in Forum: News and lifestyle

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

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

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

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

5 October 2021

in Vines and wines

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

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

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

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.

27 August 2021

in Vines and wines

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

Offer: preview five-star Chianti Superiore DOCG 2019

Our loyal wine lovers will be the first to drink the Chianti Superiore DOCG 2019 BIO 5-star harvest. At home with professional corkscrew and vacuum stopper

Offer-Chianti-Superiore-DOCG-2019-BIO-12-bottles-Donatella-Cinelli Colombini

The 2019 harvest was extraordinary for Sangiovese in Tuscany. Small bunches, small berries and perfect ripening. The strong temperature range of September 2019 determined the characteristic element of the wines from this vintage which is the richness of the aromas.

To be among the first to taste the 2019 Chianti Superiore vintage will allow you to appreciate and make your friends appreciate, a small masterpiece. It is a great young wine and at the same time it is easy to drink and accompany with any dish: from the Florentine steak cooked on the grill to a brunch with cold cuts and cheeses but even with Asian dishes. In fact, the great value of Chianti is to be extraordinarily easy to match and maintain its pleasantness with all foods except with absolutely inappropriate things such as ice cream.

But we are sure that you will not do anything like that.

Indeed, to facilitate the service on the table we combine the bottles with a professional corkscrew and a vacuum stopper (it works as a plunger just put it on the bottle without a cap, raise and lower the upper part until it becomes hard) to extract the air from the half full bottles and then finish the Chianti Superiore the next day and maybe discover that you like it even more.

Chianti Superiore is a type of Chianti of a higher level: the grapes come from vineyards that are not very productive and of this wine is requested a “superior” level as the name indicates. What we propose comes from the vineyards at Fattoria del Colle, that was built by the ancestors of the current owner, Donatella Cinelli Colombini, in 1592.

OFFER FOR MEMBERS OF DONATELLA’S CLUB

Offer-Chianti-2019-12-bottles-Donatella-Cinelli Colombini

12 bottles of Chianti Superiore DOCG BIO (organic) 2019 + a professional corkscrew and a vacuum closure: Euro 119 (instead of Euro 156)
For those who wish to double the order buying 24 bottles the price is even more convenient
Euro 233 (instead of Euro 312)
Free shipping in Italy, 15 Euro discount on shipping abroad.

30 July 2021

in Vines and wines

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

0 Comments

Five-star organic Chianti Superiore 2019

Organic Chianti Superiore from a 5-star harvest. A family wine: born from the vineyards and cellars at Fattoria del Colle

Chianti-Superiore-2019-BIO-Fattoria-del-Colle

This estate was built in 1592 by the ancestors of the current owner Donatella Cinelli Colombini who in twenty years has restored it to its former glory. Its altitude, of 404 meters on the sea, with cool nights, allows a slow and gradual maturation of the grapes. The farm is located in the south of Tuscany on a land of neo-quaternary age with sea sands and clays. The vineyards are on top of the hills in positions well exposed to the sun with excellent ventilation.

CHIANTI SUPERIORE 2019 BIO FROM FATTORIA DEL COLLE

Chianti Superiore is a higher level type of Chianti: the grapes come from low yield vineyards and the wine is required to be of “superior” level as the name indicates.

2019-Harvest-at-Fattoria-del-Colle

The climate was particularly favourable in 2019. The very rainy spring, especially in April and May hydrated the soil allowing the vines to well withstand the heat of summer .There were only two major storms (1 July and 15 September) for a total of almost 200 mm of water. They were the magic touch needed for a masterpiece harvest. The 2019 grapes were perfect with very small, healthy bunches and berries, ripened in a very balanced way.

The strong thermal excursion of September 2019 determined the characteristic element of the wines of this vintage, that is the richness of the aromas.

2019 A MASTERPIECE OF A HARVEST WITH GREAT AROMAS

TYPE: dry red.
PRODUCTION AREA: Tuscany, Trequanda, Fattoria del Colle
VINTAGE CHARACTERS: Dry winter, very rainy April and May, hot summer interrupted by two thunderstorms. September with sunny days and almost cold nights that allowed a gradual maturation of the grapes and an extraordinary synthesis of the aromas.
VARIETAL: Sangiovese with small additions of grapes authorized in Tuscany.
HARVEST: manual harvesting with selection of clusters in the vineyard to pick only the grapes with the same level of ripening. This involved repeated passages in the same vineyards and allowed to vinify the entire production separately and optimally. In the cellar a further selection of grapes (mechanical and manual) was carried out on the sorting table.
VINIFICATION: healthy and ripe bunches. Very small calibre berries. Perfectly lignified grape seeds. Excellent Ph and extractable polyphenol content. Vinification was regular: 10 days of alcoholic fermentation followed by 15 days of maceration in contact with grape skins.
QUANTITY PRODUCED: 45.000 bottles.

What do you want to book?

Sangiovese Tag

THE CRAZY CLIMATE OF 2018 A YEAR OF INCESSIVE RAIN

2018 VINTAGE BLESSED BY THE SUN OF SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER

WINE TOURISTS ARE NOT ALL THE SAME AND DO NOT ALL HAVE THE SAME DESIRES

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE: 4 EXPERIENCES FOR TOURISTS IN BRUNELLO

BRUNELLO PRIME DONNE: THE FIRST BRUNELLO PRODUCED AND DESIGNED FOR WOMEN

6 BOTTLES OF BRUNELLO PRIME DONNE 2017, DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI’S RECIPE BOOKLET AND APRON DELIVERD TO YOUR HOME

MONTALCINO REIGN OF THE GREAT SANGIOVESE IN 2017

BRUNELLO 2017 HARVEST WITH EXTREME SELECTION OF GRAPES

BRUNELLO 2015, SUPERTUSCAN IL DRAGO E LE 8 COLOMBE 2018 AND OUR ORCIA DOC LEONE ROSSO 2019 AT HOME

A RED LION, SYMBOL OF THE ANCESTORS WHO FOUNDED THE ESTATE IN 1592

LEONE ROSSO DOC ORCIA 2019

DOC ORCIA THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WINE IN THE WORLD

BRUNELLO RISERVA 2016 AND BRUNELLO 2017 AT YOUR HOME

CASATO PRIME DONNE A SPECIAL WINERY FOR SPECIAL CUSTOMERS

NEW DIVERSIFIED WINE EXPERIENCES FOR TOURISTS AND WINE LOVERS

FOR LOVERS OF THE COUNTRYSIDE, WINE LOVERS AND FOR GREAT CONNOISSEURS 4 TAILOR-MADE PROPOSALS

THE ROSSO DI MONTALCINO 2019 AND THE MORE AND MORE FREQUANT 5 STAR HARVESTS

THE SAME SANGIOVESE AND THE TWO DIFFERENT WINES FROM MONTALCINO

DONATELLA GRANDE DAME OF BRUNELLO BUT ALSO PASSIONATE AND VISIONARY

DON’T MISS THE OCCASION TO CELEBRATE WITH A FINE WELL-RATED WINE BY THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

A SMALL PRESENT FOR THOSE WHO WILL BE TRAVELLING BY PLANE AND WANT TO TAKE A BRUNELLO WITH THEM TO CELEBRATE

FOR THE MEMBERS OF DONATELLA’S CLUB 6 BOTT. BRUNELLO 2015 RISERVA – WINE CELEBRATION BOX

HARVEST 2021- THE PATCHWORK HARVEST

BRUNELLO 2021 HARVEST

OFFER FOR MEMBERS OF DONATELLA’S CLUB

CHIANTI SUPERIORE 2019 BIO FROM FATTORIA DEL COLLE

2019 A MASTERPIECE OF A HARVEST WITH GREAT AROMAS

What do you want to book?