The name 'Isole e Olena' came about in the 1950s when two adjoining estates, 'Isole' and 'Olena', were purchased by the De Marchi family and combined to form one. The history of both estates dates back many hundreds of years, and the earliest documentation of the village of Olena goes as far back as the 12th century. During the 1950s, the De Marchi family planted specialised vineyards and expanded the cellars. Today, the estate is run by Paolo De Marchi and his wife Marta. Paolo comes from a family with three generations of winemaking experience in the northern part of Piemonte and his older son, Luca, now runs the family estate there, Proprietà Sperino.
Isole e Olena Cepparello Toscana IGT 2013
14% abv
Bright ruby red in colour, Cepparello has aromas of red fruits and cherries on the nose along with a touch of spice from the welljudged use of oak. The palate opens to ripe fruit and the wellbalanced structure of a great Cepparello, as well as elegant, soft tannins and a persistent finish.
“Hands down beautiful, The 2013 Cepparello is a creation of stunning elegance and balance. A pure expression of Sangiovese, this wine undergoes a sophisticated oak regime that sees ageing in various barrel sizes and barrique of various ages. It lives 18 months of its life in French and 3% American oak before being released. This vintage (that is cooler compared to 2012 and 2011) delivers an exceptionally soft and mellow bouquet with slightly sweet sensations of ripe cherry and fragrant blue flower. Soft tones of spice and cinnamon bring up the rear. The wine is medium to full in terms of body weight, and the finish is driven by cool tones of balsam and menthol herb. The 2013 Cepparello is one of my favorite wines of the vintage.” Drink 2017 – 2035
97 Points, Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate Dec 2016
The grapes for Cepparello come from the best sites on the estates. Situated 400 metres above sea level, facing south-west, soils are primarily galestro, a schistous clay. The name Cepparello is taken from an old stream, Borro Cepparello, originating in the highest point of the vineyards on the Isole e Olena estate.
After crushing, the must fermented on the skins in oak vats for about three weeks at 30-32°C, with délestage and pumping over carried out twice a day to give good colour and soft tannins. The maceration tank was emptied of the fermenting must, the cap was dried out for 4-5 hours and then the must was poured back over the cap. After malolactic fermentation, the wine was racked into barrels. It was 100% barrel-aged, a third in new French and American oak (with American barrels making up 5% of the total), a third in one year old oak and the remaining third was put into two year old oak. The wine remained in barrel for 20 months and then matured in bottle for one year before release.
- Reference #:
- 8534
- Strength
- 14 ABV
- Bottles per Case
- 6 bottles
- Grapes
- Sangiovese
- Organic
- No
- Biodynamic
- No
- Vegan
- Yes
- Vegetarian
- Yes
- Sparkling
- No
