Donatella Cinelli Colombini : Casato Prime Donne Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne Selection 2021

Characteristics and tasting advice for the Casato Prime Donne Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne Selection 2021 by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Tasting

Color

The color reveals a bright ruby-red hue.

Nose

Refined and rich, the nose reveals aromas of spices, ripe red fruits and forest floor.

Palate

Powerful and velvety, the palate charms with its silky texture and spicy nuances. French oak is perceptible, leading into a long, lingering finish.

Food and wine pairings

This Brunello di Montalcino 2021 pairs perfectly with generous cuts of roasted meat, aged cheeses or game.

Serving and cellaring

It is recommended to open this Brunello di Montalcino 2021 one hour before serving and to decant it to aerate. Serve at room temperature, between 16 and 18°C. This wine offers cellaring potential through 2041 and beyond.

A Brunello di Montalcino from Italy’s first all-female vineyard

The estate

Donatella Cinelli Colombini has been running two historic estates in Tuscany since 1998: Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda. The first Italian woman to head a wine estate, she created Italy’s first all-female vineyard in 2002. The Casato vineyard spans 17 hectares of Sangiovese, producing exclusively Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino. Since 2011, the estate has favored manual work and traditional vinifications in concrete vats.

The vineyard

This Brunello di Montalcino comes from the Ardita vineyard, located on Montalcino’s north-eastern slope at 225 meters above sea level. The Plio-Quaternary soils are predominantly clay and marine sand. Planted in 2002, the vineyard benefits from a naturally low yield of around one kilogram per vine. This Vigna Prime Donne cuvée represents the first single-parcel selection from this estate, certified in organic farming.

The vintage

The year 2021 begins with a late frost at the end of April, followed by a long dry period from June to September. September offers ideal ripening conditions with daytime temperatures of 29°C and nighttime temperatures of 15°C. The manual harvest takes place on September 27, with a rigorous cluster-by-cluster selection in the vines, complemented by berry sorting at the winery.

Winemaking and aging

The Brunello di Montalcino 2021 is vinified in open-top, raw concrete truncated-cone vats, with punching down and automatic temperature control. Skin maceration lasts 15 days. The wine is then aged for 2 years in 5 to 7-hectoliter French oak casks and steam-bent barrels. The wine is not filtered.

Grape variety

100% Sangiovese