Donatella Cinelli Colombini Brunello di Montalcino 2011
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James Suckling
Pretty balance to this 2011 with a solid core of cherry and raspberry fruit. Firm and silky tannins. Rich and flavorful finish. Really excellent. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Expressive, with a dose of oak spice and wood tannins lifting the cherry and strawberry fruit. Leather, tobacco and spice accents abound as this cascades into a long, multilayered aftertaste. Best from 2018 through 2030. 1,410 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The new year has started off with a bang for Donatella Cinelli Colombini. Her 2011 Brunello di Montalcino is an articulate and generous red that is endowed with thick layers of dark fruit, plum, cassis, sweet spice and moist chewing tobacco. This estate definitely presents a modern style of Brunello, but this expression shows less obvious oak compared to the wines made five years ago or more. The house style continues to show a slow evolution that puts emphasis on elegance and purity. Having said that, this Brunello also offers the immediate qualities needed for near-term consumption. You can drink it relatively soon or hold off altogether. This wine could go either way. Rating: 92+
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Wine Enthusiast
Wild-berry, truffle, leather, menthol and sunbaked soil aromas lead the way. Tightly wound but ripe tannins wrap around the firmly structured palate, underscoring mature Morello cherry, black raspberry, white pepper, licorice and chopped Mediterranean herb. A subtle hint of game closes the finish. Drink 2019–2026.
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Donatella Cinelli Colombini owns two wineries, one in Montalcino and one in Trequanda in the Chianti and DOC Orcia regions. Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino is a property of 40 hectares of which 16 hectares include Sangiovese vineyards and the winery and cellar.
At Donatella Cinelli Colombini all the vintners are women, as is the head winemaker, which is a unique situation in Italy and a beacon of progress for women in the wine business in general. Donatella herself was approached by the EU to research the use of native yeast strains in Montalcino. As a result of her work, these local yeasts are now used in the winemaking process at Donatella Cinelli Colombini and are available to use throughout Montalcino.
In the vineyard, Donatella Cinelli Colombini has been cultivating her grapes with organic methods since 2014 and will soon be receiving organic certification. In addition, she has made some recent upgrades at the winery including the use of cement tanks for fermentation. Instead of barriques in the cellar, Donatella Cinelli Colombini chooses to age her Brunelli for at least two years in 500-litre tonneaux and then decants the wine into 15hl casks for further aging. Finally the wine will rest in bottle, which is essential for developing aromatic fullness. The distinctive element of Donatella's wines is their elegance.
Donatella's wines have been widely praised by the press, especially in recent vintages. In 2016, she was one of four Brunello producers chosen to present at Wine Spectator's New York Wine Experience and in the same year Merano Wine Festival gave gold medals to the 2012 vintage of both Donatella's Brunello and Brunello Progetto Prime Donne.
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.