GOLD MEDAL FOR VIN SANTO IN THE BRUXELLES COMPETITION
340 COMPETITORS FROM 23 COUNTRIES TASTED BLINDLY AND DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI’S VIN SANTO WINS THE GOLD MEDAL, ENTERING THE WORLD’S ELITE OF SWEET WINES
GOLD MEDAL CONCOURS MONDIAL DE BRUXELLES VIN SANTO 2009
by Donatella Cinelli Colombini #winedestination #brunellodimontalcino
<<We are pleased to inform you of the results obtained from the product you presented at the CMB Concours Mondial de Bruxelles – Sweet & Fortified Wines Session 2024 which took place from 1 to 2 October. This year, a total of 340 wine samples were subjected to the judgment of our jury of international professionals>> and Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Vin Santo del Chianti DOC won the Gold Medal.
With this simple email we received the news of an unexpected and very welcome recognition for our Vin Santo.
A MINI SERIES OF 500 SMALL BOTTLES CONTAINING SWEET NECTARS
From the graphs accompanying the letter it is possible to see that our wine was tasted blind by a panel of six tasters including 3 Belgians, 2 Portuguese and one Dutch. The thing that struck them most was the persistence of the Vin Santo which is, on the palate, the most evident character followed by balance and acidity.
On the nose, the tasters noticed more of the aroma of walnut/dried fruit as well as honey, while the balsamic notes appeared more nuanced.
DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI AND COMPETITIONS, THE SURPRISE OF WINNING
Generally I don’t submit my wines to wine competitions but, in this case, it was the Tuscany Region that urged me following the initiative on the sweet wines of our region promoted by the Women of Wine, and by me at Fattoria del Colle. This tasting had highlighted the need to enhance Vin Santo and other dessert wines whose production has an ancient history and a marginal relevance so much so as to put them at risk of abandonment.
Precisely in a relaunch logic, a workshop dedicated to Vin Santo di Toscana was organized during the CMB Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, conducted by Mattia Cianca and supported by the Chianti Wine Consortium. It allowed the jury to explore the richness and diversity of these wines.
With the same spirit I sent my Vin Santo to the very famous Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in the Sweet and Fortified Wines section. I didn’t expect a medal because there were 340 wines competing from 23 countries including all the main producing nations: Portugal, France, Italy and China. Among the competitors were all the strongest wineries in the world in dessert wines.
CARLO GARDINI AND HIS LOVE FOR SWEET WINES IN SPITE OF HIS WIFE DONATELLA
We, however, focus on great reds and Vin Santo represents a very small production of 500 bottles of 0.375CL intended for a niche of enthusiasts. A miniseries that continued only due to the great passion of my husband Carlo Gardini, because, alas, I really don’t like sweet wines. He won this gold medal.
In the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles dedicated to sweet and fortified wines, our country brought home 20 medals out of the 111 awarded overall with a result clearly superior to last year.
There were 58 gold medals in total and one went to our little Vin Santo. It must be underlined that all the gold medals won by Tuscany are with Vin Santo.
The CMB Concours Mondial de Bruxelles is a competition similar to the Olympics where reaching the finals means being part of the world leaders. And it’s wonderful to be there