It is in the heart of Tuscany, in Italy, in the south of the Chianti appellation, between Crete Senesi and Val d'Orcia, that the estate of Donatella Cinelli Colombini is located: Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino.
Casato Prime Donne is today the first winery entirely managed by women, as a symbol of the revolution in the role of women in the wine world. An estate of 40 hectares, 16 of which are planted with vines, Casato Prime Donne overlooks the hills of Montalcino at an altitude of 225 metres above sea level, surrounded by vineyards of Sangiovese, used for the production of the famous Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino. Merlot, Traminer and Foglia Tonda, an ancient native grape variety whose cultivation had been abandoned, are also grown in the vineyard.
Born into a family of Brunello Di Montalcino producers whose origins date back to the 16th century, Donatella Cinelli Colombini founded her own winery, Casato Prime Donne and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda in 1998. In 2003, she won the award for the best Italian producer awarded by the AIS Bibenda, the Italian association of sommeliers. Donatella Cinelli Colombini is one of the 210 member producers of the Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino.
The wines of Donatella Cinelli Colombini reflect a style all their own. The wines are aged for at least two years in French oak barrels of 5 to 7 hectolitres. The Brunello is then left to settle in 15 to 40 hectolitre barrels and then continues to age in bottle. This slow process is essential to the aromatic development of the wines, giving them their distinctive elegance, which allows the Brunello by Donatella Cinelli Colombini to withstand a great deal of ageing. Referred to as one of the best Brunello di Montalcino in Italy, Donatella Cinelli Colombini's wines are classified as DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) and DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), the highest level of the hierarchy of Italian appellations.