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2012 Donatella Cinelli Colombini Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

December 28, 2025 - $71

Estimate

RATINGS

95Vinous / IWC

...cracked ashen stone, foreign spice, dusty rose, balsamic noes, and dried strawberries...deeply textural with silken waves of ripe red fruits contrasted by a flinty core of minerality and nervous acidity. Sour citrus creates a cheek-puckering feel through the finale, accentuated by still grippy tannins and a hint of licorice that lingers on and on.

93The Wine Advocate

...robust and richly textured wine with dark fruit flavors of prune, blackberry and black currant. Ample spice, tobacco and tar fills in the rear. This wine glides over the palate with smooth and velvety intensity.

93Wine Enthusiast

Underbrush, spiced plum, pressed violet and French oak aromas unfold in the glass. The juicy enveloping palate doles out raspberry compote, ripe black cherry, licorice and clove alongside earthy suggestions of truffle and game that lend depth and personality. Velvety fine-grained impart finesse.

92Wine Spectator

Macerated cherry and strawberry flavors are shaded by oak spice in this well-built red. Right now, the fruit is overshadowed by tannins, but the finish comes together nicely.

92James Suckling

Lots of rose petals and rose tea with the ripe fruit in the midst, too. Full-bodied, ripe and powerful with chewy tannins and a long and flavorful finish.

17Jancis Robinson

Savoury and a little meaty on the nose with nutty notes and compact, concentrated palate with hints of dried fruit. Genuine and with a complex finish.

REGION

Italy, Tuscany, Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello di Montalcino is regarded as one of Italy’s best appellations. Located in south central Tuscany below Chianti, the wines of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG are made of a Sangiovese clone called “brunello,” which means “little dark one,” a reference to the brown tones in the skin of the grape. Unlike some Tuscan appellations that allow other grapes to be blended with Sangiovese, Brunello di Montalcino is entirely Sangiovese. Montalcino itself is a picturesque, hill-top town not especially well known for wine production until the mid-19th century, when a local vineyard owner isolated the brunello clone and planted it. Other growers followed suit. Nevertheless it wasn’t until 1970s that wine enthusiasts started paying attention to Brunello di Montalcino, which by then was becoming an outstanding wine. Today there are 120 estates in the DOCG, up from about 25 estates in 1975. Brunellos in general are bigger, darker, more tannic and more powerful wines than Chiantis or most other Sangioveses. By law they must be aged for four years, and two of those years must be in wooden barrels.

VINTAGE

2012 Donatella Cinelli Colombini Brunello di Montalcino Riserva