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
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 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.
The Prime Donne project, to which this wine refers, began in 1998, when Donatella created her new estate. She wanted to reaffirm women’s talent in wine making and in wine tasting in a moment when they had few opportunities to express themselves. During the years the Brunello Prime Donne, has obtained excellent results from the critics and consumers all over the world.
BRUNELLO PRIME DONNE 2016 TERROIR AND CLIMATE
TYPE: dry red.
PRODUCTION AREA: Tuscany, Montalcino, Casato Prime Donne.
CLIMATE: Mild winter but very rainy. In the soil there were plenty of water reserves for the hotter weather. Budding took place 15 days earlier than usual, but the cold and rainy winter slowed the vegetative cycle and reducing the amount of grapes made. The veraison, changing of the grape colour, took place around July 20th. The summer heat was interrupted by storms. The ripening period was particular because of the vast temperature range between day and night.
VARIETAL, VEGRAPE HARVEST, VINIFICATION AND BARREL AGEING FOR THIS BRUNELLO 2016 PRIME DONNE
GRAPE VARIETY: 100% Sangiovese
GRAPE HARVEST: 28-29 September and October 1st. The harvest date was chosen by tasting the grapes, an old fashioned method that is although more precise than laboratory analysis. The grapes were picked by hand cluster by cluster. In the cellar the sorting table allowed a further selection of the grapes.
VINIFICATION: In truncated cone shaped unlined temperature controlled concrete vats, open on top and with a mechanized punching of the cap. The small dimension of the vats permits the separation of the grapes from different vineyards and two of these hold perfectly the handpicked grapes of each day. After the alcoholic fermentation the wine stayed 15 days in the vats to macerate with the grape skins.
BARREL AGEING: in 5 and 7 hl French oak tonneau produced by 3 artisan workshops. The use of small barrels of different provenance and made with different techniques make it possible to increase the complexity of the wine and to choose the wood that is best apt for the wine from each vineyard. The barrel ageing finishes with large 15-40 hl Slavonian oak barrels. Before bottling this Brunello has spent time in the unlined concrete tanks. It has not been filtered.
ORGANOLEPTIC ANALYSIS
QUANTITY PRODUCED: 6.000 bottles
COLOUR: brilliant ruby red. The slow movement of the wine in the glass underlines its richness.
AROMA: complex, deep, fine, recalls ripe red fruits, exotic fruit, the undergrowth, dark hints, like coffee and spices.
TASTE: very traditional characters, the solid acidity and tannin structure is practically hidden by the perfect balance, by the silky character of the tannins and the fullness of the fruit expressed with a graceful verticality and a noticeable persistence.
HOW TO SERVE BRUNELLO 2016 PRIME DONNE
FOOD PAIRING: gastronomic wine that must be matched with important dishes like big roasts, aged cheese, game.
HOW TO SERVE: Room temperature (18-20°C).Clear, balloon shaped glassware. It is best to open the wine one hour before serving and to decant it so as to favour an intense oxygenation.
CELLARING: 30-40 years and more. Lay the bottles down, in a cold and dark place. Have the corks changed in Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s winery when the level of the wine begins to descend to the shoulder of the bottle (around 2035).