Grapes: 100% Sangiovese grapes.
Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne project is produced from the Sangiovese vineyards at Casato Prime Donne in the northern slope of Montalcino. Almost always the grapes come from a small particle called “Ardita” about 2.5 hectares in size. It is a vineyard of extraordinary quality, planted in 2001 at 225 m above sea level with south exposure, on Pliocene soils with a prevalence of clay.
These soils are therefore “poor” , where the vines produce very small bunches and berries. In addition they are “cool soils”, a characteristic that, together with the dislocation in the not so warm part of the Brunello territory, allows slower and regular ripening of the grapes.
The vines are cultivated in spurred cordon and according to the organic regime.
The average production is around 5.5 tons per hectare and only in exceptionally favourable vintages rises to 6.5 tons. The harvest is always manual and its date is decided by tasting the grapes. It is in fact, in accordance with the day chosen to harvest the Ardita vineyard that the calendar of the harvest is fixed in the other vineyards at Casato Prime Donne.
A traditional style Brunello, produced in a small exclusive selection.
It owes its exceptionality to the Sangiovese grapes from which it is born. The small size of the clusters and berries allow it to combine longevity, an extraordinary elegance and a surprising pleasantness. The solid acidic and tannic structure is in fact barely perceptible thanks to a perfect harmony.
A CHALLENGE
Brunello Prime Donne selection was produced for the first time with the 1993 vintage.
Donatella Cinelli Colombini had just then begun to create the estate that bears her name and that is characterized by the two wineries– Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda – with an entirely female staff. The attention to the role of women in wine led Donatella to observe that wine critics and curators of the Italian wine guides were, in 1998, all men
She decided to reaffirm the importance of women’s taste in the choice of wine by creating the first Brunello selected by a female and international panel. The first group consisted of 4 tasters, the English Master of Wine Maureen Ashley, the German wine shop owner Astrid Schwarz, one of the best Italian sommeliers Daniela Scrobogna and the Italian-American Pr Marina Thompson. Over the years, the group has changed to become the current one composed of two Masters of Wine, the English Rosemary George and the Swedish Madeleine Stenwreth, together with Astrid Schwarz and Daniela Scrobogna
The tasters blind taste the wines from different vineyards and then decide the type of barrels to use, the duration of barrel ageing and the blend between the different types.
In the beginning, Brunello Prime Donne was a bold challenge, a premium red wine traditionally designed for male consumers that bows to the taste of women. Over the years its success with the consumers and the critics has gone hand in hand with the affirmation of the female gender as a buyer of high-end red wines. Today Brunello Prime Donne is exported to 30 countries around the world and is a symbol of courage, ethical values and a challenge to clichés.
Aging: The wine ages for two-three years in 7hl French oak tonneaux and then in large Slovenian oak barrels. In the last period before bottling Brunello is kept in bare cement vats. Bottling almost always takes place one year before marketing. Brunello waits to leave the cellar in the dark, in air-conditioned storerooms at 16°C.
