94 VINOUS – Eric Guido
93 Wine Advocate
92 James Suckling
Cenerentola (Cinderella) like the young girl in the fairytale has two older and richer sisters who get invited to the Prince’s ball while she has to stay at home. The Cenerentola wine belongs to an appellation called Orcia born on February 14th 2000 (Valentine’s Day) between the territories of the Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The Orcia region is consequently the youngest, between the “sisters”, that get invited to the tables of prices and kings.
But Cenerentola Orcia DOC has grit and the desire to succeed and in the end will marry the Prince Charming.
This wine is born under the sign of love “you are my Cenerentola” “and you are my Prince”. On the label there is a woman with no face who descends the steps, by night, from the Tuscan hills. This is any woman who accepts challenges and wishes to fall in love.
FROM THE CINDERELLA FAIRYTALE TO THE MAGIC OF THE FOGLIA TONDA VARIETY
The story of this wine is the story of a challenge, the challenge of a young wine region that wants to get noticed.
Obviously to succeed in this goal a little magic is necessary.
For this reason Donatella Cinelli Colombini who produces the Cenerentola wine at Fattoria del Colle, on the high hills of Southern Tuscany, has decided to use two autochthonous varieties: Sangiovese king of the Tuscan vineyards and the Foglia Tonda, a variety abandoned more than a century ago. This is the magic touch that makes Cenerentola different.
During the Nineteenth century the poor Tuscan farmers did not prune back (the so called green harvesting) and the Foglia Tonda vines that spontaneously produce a lot of grapes were unable to get all their clusters to ripen. Today cultivating the vines with lots of attention and reducing the number of clusters we bring them home perfectly ripe.
The Foglia Tonda variety is typical of the Southern end of Tuscany, long ago it was very common, but today it is very rare, in total there are less than 20 hectares of this variety. It produces potent wines and for this reason it is the ideal companion for the Sangiovese, which is elegant but not powerful. Together they create a unique wine, different from all others but with totally Tuscan character.
Quantity produced: 10,000 bottles, made only in the best vintages. Cenerentola is apt for a long ageing. To keep it well store the bottles lying down in a dark place.
Markets and prizes: The Cenerentola wine had great trouble in getting known, but today it has fans all over the world. After 15 years from the first production it is now exported in 15 nations. Not only does the market appreciate this wine but also wine critics do too: it has obtained 91/100 from Robert Parker Wine Advocate and 93/100 from Wine Spectator.