Le Sommelier Mixed Case: Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Wine Type:
Style of Wine:	Big & Bold
Country of Origin:	Italy
Wine Region:	Tuscany
Appellation:	Montalcino
Grape Varietal:	Sangiovese, Merlot, Sagrantino, and Various
Bottle Format:	750mL
Case Size:	6 bottles
$420.42 Per Case ($70.07/btl)

Tasting Notes

Each case contains the following wines:

1x Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2015.

"The ripe-cherry, flower and hot-stone aromas are very attractive. Full body. Dense and layered with a beautiful center palate and intensity. Cedar and light dried-flower character shows through as well. Try after 2022 [or cellar till late 2030s or early 2040s].” - 95 points, jamessuckling.com

1x Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne DOCG 2015.

The project grows more meaningful with her Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne. Donatella noticed that wine critics for the Italian wine guides were all men. She decided then to unite a small group of talented women wine professionals, asking them to blind taste future Brunello from different barrels, and to select the best lots. Donatella considers the Brunello Prime Donne the flagship for her wineries. For the 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne, Sangiovese from the clay-limestone Ardita Vineyard surrounding the winery at 250m, was handpicked and fermented on skins for 15 days in stainless and unlined concrete. It was then moved to 5-7hl French tonneaux, before finishing in traditional 15- 40hl oak barrels from Slavonia for 2.5 years. Prior to being bottled, unfiltered, the wine rested in unlined concrete vats. Prime Donne is a powerful Brunello destined for a long ageing. Only 6000 bottles produced.

2x Rosso di Montalcino DOC 2018.

This is the winery’s first organic Rosso di Montalcino, and it is entirely Sangiovese. It was native fermented in stainless and concrete vats, before aging 6-12 months in large tonneaux.

2x Il Drago e le 8 Colombe IGT Toscana 2018.

From Trequanda’s Fattoria del Colle, at 400m on hills of predominantly limestone and sandstone comes this Supertuscan blend of Sangiovese (60%), and equal parts Merlot, and Sagrantino. This was vinified in stainless before 18 months in large barrels and in 5-7 hl French oak tonneaux. Ripe and dark fruited, with blackcurrant, blackberry, black cherry, plum blossoms on a full palate, structured taut with the soils and acidity, taking this to a humming, stony, spiced finish. Tannins are firm and grippy, giving this a few years ahead in the bottle. 7500 bottles were made.

Critical Praise

Estimated delivery time is 3-10 business days.

Donatella Cinelli Colombini left her family’s estate in 1998 to start her own, made up of Casato in Montalcino, and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda. Along with the vineyards and with the farmhouses to be renovated, Donatella received a quantity of Brunello di Montalcino, and so she needed a cellar master to see to its barrel-ageing. She called the Enology School in Siena, asking for a good student to hire. They answered that they had none; cellar masters had to be booked years in advance. They mentioned, however, that they had many female cellar masters available, since no important winery wanted to employ them. Donatella didn’t just hire a woman cellar master for the project. The entire staff is women, including the head winemaker, and Donatella has become a beacon for women in the wine industry, not only in Italy, but globally.