2013 Isole e Olena Cepparello

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.

The 2013 Cepparello is superb. Polished, silky nuanced and exceptionally beautiful, the 2013 exudes freshness and energy from start to finish. Succulent red cherry, plum, lavender and rose petal are some of the signatures. Aging in French oak shapes the wine nicely without marking it excessively. The purity of the flavors is striking. This is an especially cool, savory Cepparello built on finesse and persistence rather than power. Rain during harvest robbed the wine of some of its breadth. Otherwise, this is a striking Cepparello. I can't wait to see how it ages.

Stelvin or cork. 100% Sangiovese. Mid garnet. More spicy and intense than the Chianti Classico 2014. Deep, velvety and caressing but with driving and pure Sangiovese fruit. Oak shows in spice rather than sweetness and there's impressive persistence, moving through spice and umami on the fresh, long finish. (JH)