Winemaker Notes
The first Italian red wine suitable for ageing, selected by female tasters.The tasting panel for the most feminine Brunello di Montalcino of Casato Prime Donne meets at least once a year and is composed of four female taters Rosemary George, Master of Wine, the German wine expert Astrid Schwarz, one of the best Italian sommeliers Daniela Scrobogna and the Italo-American PR Marina Thompson. Together they choose the best Brunello selection aged in large barrels.
Brilliant and deep ruby red. Intense, fine, spicy aromas. Dry, warm, robust, harmonious, lingers at length in the mouth.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A complex array of crushed blackberries, cloves, nutmeg and cigar smoke on the nose here. It's full-bodied with firm, intense tannins. Cedar and ripe brambleberries follow through to dark chocolate on the finish. Very complex. Best ever?
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Opening to a dark color and rich concentration, the Donatella Cinelli Colombini 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne (with 6,600 bottles made) shows a lot of fun character. I want to say that the wine is more modern or contemporary in style, but that's not really true. Yes, there's more fruity richness here, but the bouquet is also very vertical in intensity, lifted and bright. There's a fine spot of sweet cheery and tart apple skin. There is no heaviness. The fruit comes from a six-hectare site at a low 225 meters above sea level with medium-rich soils and lots of clay. That richness that I described evidently comes from the site, more than it does the cellar. If you enjoy a softer side to Brunello, you should seek the welcoming comfort of Prime Donne.
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Wine Spectator
A bright beam of black cherry is the main aromatic thrust in this red, with flavors of blackberry, tobacco and tar. This has some punch, building to a long finish, where the dusty tannins reign. Best from 2024
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Wine Enthusiast
Violet, underbrush, ripe berry and camphor aromas waft out of the glass on this focused red. It's elegantly structured, featuring juicy morello cherry, cranberry and licorice before a coffee-bean finish. Tightly woven, fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity keeps it energized. Best after 2024.
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Decanter
Donatella’s all-female project was launched in 1998. Besides the estate’s three winemakers and external consultant, Valérie Lavigne, the Prime Donne bottling calls on the expertise of four other female wine pros, including two Masters of Wine. There is much going on in the 2016 flavour-wise: tea, tobacco, baked fruit and leather pervade throughout. It is quite an extracted Brunello, with gritty tannins that dominate the palate for now. Time will tell how these resolve, but my instinct says enjoy this over the next few years with a grilled steak.
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.