2011 Isole e Olena Cepparello

The 2011 Cepparello is wonderfully aromatic, lifted and precise. Sweet rose petal, mint, crushed raspberries, cinnamon and kirsch grace the palate in a silky, aromatically expressive wine endowed with pure pedigree. Paolo De Marchi added a dollop of Trebbiano to give the 2011 a little extra freshness that the vintage itself could not provide. The white Trebbiano was once used widely in the production of Chianti Classico. Today, it is rarely used in this way.

Vines 400 metres above sea level, facing south-west, soils are primarily galestro, a schistous clay. 2011 was one of the most challenging vintages and 20-25% of the Sangiovese crop was good enough to be used for Cepparello. After crushing, the must was fermented on the skins for 21-28 days at 30-32°C, with delestage and pumping over twice a day to give wines of good colour and soft tannins. The maceration tank was emptied of fermenting must, the cap allowed to dry out for two to three hours and then the must 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 (5% of 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 before release.TA 6.7 g/l, pH 3.23. Deep smudgy ruby. Definite aroma of vanilla as well as deep, very ripe cherries. Also spice and leather. Still quite marked by the oak. Despite the difficult vintage, there’s terrific balance here between the ripe but not overripe fruit – cherry and black plum – and the fresh acidity. Rounded tannins but still with some chew, and savoury spice on the finish. You do feel the heat of the alcohol a little at the end but this is still very satisfying and delicious. (JH)

The 2011 Cepparello is a big wine that moves over the palate with authority and determination. It reveals thick layers of tobacco, spice, red cherry, grilled herb and pretty ashy-mineral accents. This 100% Sangiovese also imparts a sense of austerity that is especially evident in the tight, but polished tannins. Cepparello needs another five years of bottle aging.