About this wine

Casato Prime Donne is the first Italian winery staffed entirely by women and has reached International success thanks to the quality of its Brunello. Fattoria del Colle is a treasure chest of memoirs where visitors can experience the history of the Tuscan countryside in the midst of uncontaminated and organically cultivated nature.

In 1998 Donatella Cinelli Colombini left her family’s estate to start her own made up of Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda. Together with the vineyards, and the farmhouses in need of repair Donatella received some Brunello wine, and so she needed a cellar master to rack, age and bottle it. She called the Enology school in Siena, asking for a good student to hire as her cellar master. They answered that they had none; cellar masters had to be booked, years in advance. When Donatella asked the same question, specifying however that she wanted a female cellar master, the answer changed. There were many women available, as no winery would employ them. Realizing the great gap in opportunities destined for women and those for men, although with the same convinced Donatella Cinelli Colombini to create a project finalized in reducing this discrimination and demonstrating that the production of fine wines does not depend on muscles but on the passion and the talent that both genders have in equal measure.

This episode gave life to the Progetto Prime Donne that is made up of 4 components: Casato Prime Donne winery, Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne,  Casato Prime Donne Award and Prime Donne Trail.

This wine comes from the 2 small vineyards of about 10 hectares that surround the 16th century building, Casato “Prime Donne”. Among the barrels are frescoes of the history of Montalcino. This award-winning wine undergoes vinification for 20-30 days. The wine is aged for at least 2 and a half years in oak barrels and tonneaux and a further 12 months in bottle.

Vintage Report from James Suckling:

"The 2015 vintage is an historical year for Brunello and nobody should miss it. The wines show impressive precision of vivid fruit, fine tannins and freshness in acidity despite their ripeness and richness which makes them some of the most exciting in years. The growing season in 2015 was impressive. The winter and spring had plenty of rain to make up for the intense sun and heat during the summer. There was some rain in September before the harvest to freshen the vineyards. And as noted before, good vineyard management compensated for the hot weather during the growing season, and sorting out dried grapes at harvest was extremely important for making exceptional wines." 

*Note: This is a pre-order item expected to arrive in by June 2020.

Reviews

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.~ 95 JS

The Donatella Cinelli Colombini 2015 Brunello di Montalcino caps long years of careful study and experimentation. When I think back to what this wine tasted like, say, 10 years ago, I notice that the ongoing stylistic tweaks faithfully reflect the general evolution of the appellation. This wine is very much a symbol of a united move toward more streamlined and delicate expressions obtained with winemaking techniques that reflect a more traditional and Tuscan ideal. The bouquet opens to delicate flowers and violets with wild cherry and bitter almond. The level of toast and spice has been ratcheted down quite considerably. The results are polished, clean and bright. Some 42,000 bottles were made. ~94 WA

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