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.

Weather The 2018 vintage was quite challenging. After a cold winter, spring started with great variability, alternating rainy and cold to sunny days. A very careful vineyard management was needed to prevent fungal diseases. On the beginning of June the weather improved, with more regular temperatures and rare rainfall, although July and August did not show extreme hot peaks as usual. In the end the result has been a good vintage in terms of quality although less generous in terms of quantity.

Vinification: Harvest was made by hand during the second and third week in October. 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 3-5% 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 18-20 months and then matured in bottle for one year before release. The wine has a long potential of ageing.

Vineyard: 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.The grapes for Cepparello come from the best sites on the estates. The vineyards are located on South/South-West facing slopes at an altitude of 400/480 metres above sea level. Soil here is primarily galestro, a schistous clay. Vines are 12 to 54 years old and planted with a density of 3,000 (older vineyards) – 7,350/6,500 (new vineyards) with spur-pruned cordon and guyot system.

Technical Information:
Grape: 100% Sangiovese
Vineyard: Cepparello
Region: Chianti Classico, Tuscany
Acidity: 5.80 g/l
Residual sugar: 1.00 g/l
pH: 3.49
Closure: Natural Cork
Production: 162,000 bottles
Alcohol: 15%

Tasting Note: The Cepparello 2018 is intense and bright ruby in colour. On the nose, it has aromas of red fruits, cherries and wild berries with a touch of spice. On the palate, flavours of red cherries. The wine is earthy with a depth of complex savoury acidity and soft tannins.