Donatella Cinelli Colombini Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2013
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Wine Enthusiast
Blue-flower, iris, spiced berry, new leather and damp earth aromas shape the enticing nose. The smooth elegant palate has great focus, doling out juicy Morello cherry, strawberry compote and tobacco framed in polished tannins. Bright acidity keeps it impeccably balance and lends nice tension that carries through to the licorice close. Drink 2021–2033.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (with only 6,500 bottles made) is a layered and structured wine that delivers a polar opposite experience especially when you compare this wine to the lighthearted annata 2014 Brunello. This riserva embodies power, grit and textural richness. It also delivers a robust and slightly evolved bouquet with dark fruit, spice and leather. In comparison, the wine from 2014 is thinner and more fruit forward. This wine is suited for grilled meats and steak. It's a hearty winter wine for sure.
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James Suckling
This has some very ripe and intense aromas with kirsch and earthy, woody complexity, as well as rich black cherries. The palate is smooth and succulent with ample fine tannins, bathed in dark-berry and plum flavors.
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Wine Spectator
This is dense, packed with black cherry, blackberry, earth, tar and resin flavors. A layer of beefy tannins unloads on the finish, yet this stays within bounds. Best from 2022 through 2040.
Other Vintages
2016-
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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.