Sangiovese 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.

13 October 2022

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.

26 May 2022

OFFER: A CELEBRATION OF THE 2016 VINTAGE

An opportunity not to be missed especially for the friends of Donatella’s Club. Purchase two of Casato Prime Donne’s premium wines at once, from the same vintage, and rated at 5 stars

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The 2016 vintage is << the best vintage of an entire generation >>. This is said by Bruce Sanderson, senior editor of Wine Spectator, , a prestigious American magazine in the wine sector. According to Bruce, the Brunellos from 2016 are the most interesting wines since the 1990s.

This vintage of Brunello has also been called the year of wonders, of real masterpieces destined to make the history of the appellation, one more reason to grab and keep as many bottles of this vintage as possible, to enjoy it today as in 20 years.

3 bottles Brunello Prime Donne 2016

3 bottles Brunello Riserva 2016

2 vacuum pumps to be able to enjoy the bottle even a few days later

11 May 2022

Il Drago e le 8 Colombe IGT Toscana Rosso 2019

Donatella Cinelli Colombini presents her Supertuscan Il Drago e le 8 Colombe, for the first time in organic version

2019 the harvest of the super Sangiovese, the year in which the bunches and berries of the king of Tuscany grape variety looked like Cabernet, the king of the Bordeaux vineyard.A dream of a harvest, with abundant, perfect grapes that were harvested by hand and then vinified in small vats where the must quickly took on a very intense colour.

Sangiovese 2019 grape harvest after 4 days

The bunches of Sagrantino and Merlot, which also make up the blend of Il Drago e le 8 Colombe were also of the highest quality. Each grape variety was vinified separately but, to make the most of the richness of the 2019 grapes, all made a very long post fermentation maceration. For this reason the racking was postponed for a week – ten days for all types: Sangiovese, Merlot and Sagrantino.

There was also a small variation in the aging in cask compared to usual. When the wine was ready to be moved from the vats to the barrels, the Covid epidemic caused the first lockdown, forcing the cellar work to be slowed down. Too bad because precisely because of the superior quality of the vintage, the quantity of barrels purchased was greater than usual.

IL DRAGO E LE 8 COLOMBE: A WINE DEDICATED TO MEN FROM THE ALL-FEMALE WINERY

The cellars belonging to Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle, in Trequanda, where this wine is born, are the first in Italy with an entirely female staff. Il Drago e le 8 Colombe is dedicated to the only male present: Carlo Gardini, husband to Donatella and creator of small, highly awarded series of Passito and Vin Santo. He is the dragon mentioned in the name of the wine and surrounded by 8 doves: the consultant Valérie Lavigne, the oenologists Barbara, Sabrina, Giada and the cellar staff, the incoming and sales staff. An oenological gynoecium that is constantly growing in number.

SUPERTUSCAN – IGT TOSCANA IL DRAGO E LE 8 COLOMBE

Il Drago e le 8 Colombe is an “author’s wine” and does not belong to any denomination. This category arises from the need to express the creativity of wine makers without subjecting them to the rules of the Doc-Docg regulations. The name Supertuscan highlights the qualitative ambitions of the wines of this type which enjoy a great international prestige. Il Drago e le 8 Colombe contains three different grape varieties: Sangiovese, which gives the wine its elegance, Merlot (20%) which adds pleasantness and Sagrantino (20%) which increases the structure. All the grapes are grown, vinified, aged in cask, bottled and refined at Fattoria del Colle in compliance with the BIO (organic) rules.

22 April 2022

OFFER: LEONE ROSSO 2019 DOC ORCIA – 5 STARS

A unique opportunity for the friends of Donatella’s Club. Personalize three of the twelve bottles of Leone Rosso DOC Orcia purchased to be able to donate them to friends with a special label

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We present the 2019 vintage, classified 5 stars, of this Doc Orcia that comes from a small and exclusive production born in the vineyards, vinified and aged in cask at Fattoria del Colle, in Tuscany. Born on the hills 400 meters above sea level near Montalcino, Montepulciano and Cortona.

The Leone Rosso Doc Orcia wine is a very versatile wine that can accompany the entire meal. It is also particularly suitable to match with cold cuts and young cheeses. It adapts well to intense and even spicy foods.

Exclusively for you, 3 bottles with 3 labels to customize to celebrate a dear friend or an anniversary. For example, if Francesco invites you to his birthday, you can take a bottle with a bespoke label.

12 bottles of Leone Rosso Orcia DOC 2019

3 customizable labels

3 shopping bags with logo

SANGIOVESE WITH MERLOT FOR A BLEND OF ELEGANCE AND SOFTNESS

This wine contains Sangiovese and Merlot grapes resulting in a typically Tuscan elegance and silky softness.

Much appreciated for its drinkability by wine lovers and by the wine critics of Wine Spectator, James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast who, in recent years, have given excellent ratings of 90/100 and even higher.

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

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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.

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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

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

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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.

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<< 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

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

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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

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.

21 January 2022

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.

4 January 2022

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

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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.

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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

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.

9 December 2021

in Farm experiences, Vines and wines

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

2 December 2021

in Farm experiences