Donatella Cinelli Colombini Brunello di Montalcino 2017

€64, exclusively represented by Vini e Capricci by Abraham’s

Donatella Cinelli Colombini Brunello

di Montalcino

2017 has a fragrant floral soft textured gravelly bouquet of geraniums, cherry blossoms and red orchard fruit. The attack is Amarone cherries and black currants with savoury textures of wild grasses and liquorice oil pastilles, camphor and mint finish. This is not as steeply tannined as you would expect from a hot vintage. Even if there is a modicum of reserve it is more to do with the relatively young age of the wine which I believe needs more time than the 16s to flesh out and fill in. With a good few hours decant the fruit opens up to reveal peaked and precise layers of berries and cherries spiked in baked spices and dry dusty tannins, a charming characteristic of Colombini, which in good time will blossom into gravy notes of dry bitter herbs, animal hide and game from the clays.

With even more time, gilded mirrored mahogany tones of beeswax and wool French polish held together by a racy seductive grip of soft mid palate tannins with good bearing lending themselves to a raspy wild cherry pie crust pastry finale. This has somewhat the upper slope elegance of a Burgundy premier cru in its finesse.

I am a big fan of Colombini for the sheer subtlety that goes a long way in producing a wine with effortless charm (fun fact a wine made entirely by women). You don’t necessarily get the high-octane classical reserve of a Gaja or the effusive exuberance of a Ciacci Piccolomini but rather the grand dame finesse of a deep secondary profile slow moving crescendo with an evolution in the glass of repeated movements of ever more subtle but complex conceits, like some grandiose piano concerto.

I don’t understand the critic ratings on this wine, the popular ratings are closer to my call. Very fine indeed.

Supplier details: Vini e Capricci has a vast selection of Brunello and Italian wines.

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