IL DRAGO E LE 8 COLOMBE IGT TOSCANA 2020
2020 WILL BE REMEMBERED BECAUSE OF COVID BUT ALSO FOR THE EXCELLENT QUALITY OF THE GRAPES AND THE LUCK WHICH SAVED THE VINEYARDS FROM BAD WEATHER
2020 Harvest Donatella Cinelli Colombini checks the colour of the must
Everyone remembers Covid masks and tests always at hand. In reality we should remember it as one of the luckiest harvests because the damage from the spring frost (18-23 March) was less than elsewhere and because the autumn rainfalls circled around the vineyards until the end of the harvest.Lucky but scarce, the 2020 vintage certainly deserves 5 stars, the maximum rating.Donatella Cinelli Colombini has been cultivating her vineyards organically for years and has been following a project called “Vineyard first” for years. It consists in a large investment in labour and equipment so that the grapes arrive in the cellar in perfect conditions on the first day of full maturation. A lot of work and a lot of attention which, in years like 2020, are helped by nature and the climate.
The 2020 grapes were healthy, with small berries, well-lignified seeds and the Sangiovese had the typical crunchiness of great vintages. Analytical data even better than 2019 with an excellent content of noble substances in the skins (extractable polyphenols) and a nice acid content
IL DRAGO E LE 8 COLOMBE, A WINE DEDICATED TO MEN IN THE WOMEN’S CELLAR
Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s wineries – Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda – are the first in Italy with an entirely female staff. For this reason, Donatella felt the need to dedicate a wine to the male component of her family which yesterday consisted of her husband Carlo Gardini and today is represented by her grandson Lorenzo. The 8 doves are the oenologists, the cellar workers, the tourist reception and sales workers. An increasingly large team that will soon force Donatella to change the name of the wine and add some doves on the label.
SUPERTUSCAN – IGT TUSCANA IL DRAGO E LE 8 COLOMBE
Il Drago e le 8 Colombe is a “super Tuscan” that is an IGT Toscana wine which does not belong to any denomination
Il Drago e le 8 Colombe 2020
but was born following the creativity of Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s winemakers. It is a blend of wines from three different grape varieties, vinified and aged in barrel separately to then be assembled before bottling. Sangiovese gives the wine elegance, Merlot (20%) adds pleasantness and Sagrantino (20%) increases structure.
At Fattoria del Colle, where Il Drago e le 8 Colombe was born, wine tourists can have an experience called “winemaker for a day” in which they produce their own Super Tuscan, using graduated cylinders and tasting wine like real winemakers do. They return home with a certificate and their bottle of Supertuscan to drink with friends. Some resemble our Il Drago e le 8 Colombe, others do not but they are all good.
IL DRAGO E LE 8 COLOMBE IGT TECHNICAL SHEET
TYPE: ORGANIC dry red
PRODUCTION AREA: Tuscany, Trequanda, Fattoria del Colle 400 m above the sea level with soils of neo-Quaternary origin characterized by clay and sandstone.
CLASSIFICATION: Igt Toscana Rosso
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VINTAGE: mild and arid winter, frost on the nights between 18 and 23 March. Very rainy June. Scorching heat from mid-July to September with a huge thunderstorm in mid-August. Excellent temperature variations between night and day.
GRAPES: Sangiovese, Merlot, Sagrantino
HARVEST: 14th and 15th of September for Merlot. The Sangiovese grapes were harvested at the end of September and immediately followed by the Sagrantino ones. The harvest was done by hand with selection of the bunches in the vineyard and of the grapes in the cellar on the sorting table.
VINIFICATION: in thermo-regulated steel vats, maceration in contact with the skins in closed vats. The musts were very colourful and fragrant, characteristics that remained in the wine.
AGEING: 18 months in large French oak barrels and in 5-7 hl tonneaux.
QUANTITY PRODUCED: 6,600 bottles
ORGANOLEPTIC ANALYSIS
COLOUR: intense and brilliant ruby red. The wine shows its robust structure in the very slow movement in the glass.
AROMA: very rich and intense. The fragrance of ripe red fruits is enriched with spicy notes
TASTE: a juicy, enveloping and velvety intensity in which the evident tannicity appears well balanced by the alcohol and the fruit. The finish is long and tasty
WINE AT THE TABLE
FOOD PAIRING: Gastronomic wine to pair with Tuscan foods such as Florentine steak or aged pecorino and cold cuts but also Indian and Chinese dishes.
TABLE SERVICE: wine for special occasions. Serve at room temperature (16-18°C) in crystal glasses with a large bowl.
CELLARING: 25 years and over. Keep the bottles lying down, in a dark and cold place