2016 | Isole e Olena | Cepparello

This is full of ripe black cherry, plum, earth and mineral flavors, the sweet fruit meshing with dense, dusty tannins. There is a light touch of oak spice, and the finish is long and structured.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The beautiful Isole e Olena 2016 Cepparello is a gorgeous and precise expression of Sangiovese. This is one of the icon wines of the vintage that shows a naked and transparent portrait of the grape on the one hand, with the complexity of the vintage and its territory on the other. Cepparello is like a crystal ball into the heart and soul of Sangiovese, Tuscany's mighty red grape. It is fermented in conical oak casks and later aged 20 months in 95% French and 5% American oak, of which only one-third is new wood. The wine delivers ample structure and contouring, with a firm and silky consistency at its core. Some 42,000 bottles were made. This wine should age over the better part of the next 20 years.

• James Suckling: This is a beautiful Cepparello with transparency and verve; it opens with dark cherries, blackberries, citrus, cumin, Thai basil and eucalyptus. What really strikes you about this wine are not the first sensations of muscular tannin, nor the plush fruit suspended above darker spices — though they are all impressive — but the sudden dart of acidity on the long finish that appears seemingly from nowhere and keeps you coming back for more. Drink from 2023.

Producer Information

Isole e Olena is one of the most prominent producers in the Chianti region of Italy. It has been credited with helping revive the quality of Chianti in the 1970s, and its flagship wine – Cepparello – is one of the most famous wines falling under the Super Tuscan designation. The estate lies within the boundaries of the Chianti Classico DOCG, a few hours' drive south of Florence in western Chianti. It was formed from the purchase and consolidation of two neighboring properties – Isole and Olena – by the De Marchi family in the 1950s. In the 1970s, Isole e Olena began a push toward quality, and fourth-generation winemaker Paolo de Marchi began to improve viticulture and viniculture techniques to make better wines in smaller quantities. In 1980, De Marchi released the first vintage of Cepparello, a wine that was then excluded from the title of Chianti Classico as it was 100 percent Sangiovese. It instead was bottled as a Vino da Tavola, or table wine, and joined the ranks of the so-called Super Tuscans, alongside wines like Tignanello and Masseto. These were able to claim the title of Toscana IGT in 1992. Isole e Olena make several other wines, including a Chianti Classico, a Vin Santo, and a range of wines made from more international varieties like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon under the name Collezione de Marchi. In addition to this, the company makes a Syrah called L'Eremo.

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