Isole e Olena Cepparello

In the glass

Aroma: red cherry, dried rose, Tuscan scrub, graphite

Palate: sour cherry, iron, wild fennel, balsamic

Pure Sangiovese Toscana IGT created by Paolo De Marchi to bottle the best vineyard at Olena outside DOCG strictures; rose-and-graphite precision.

What it pairs with

• Roast pigeon with chestnut
  Game-bird and chestnut sweetness meet Cepparello's red-fruit lift.
• Bistecca alla fiorentina Find bistecca alla fiorentina on TableJourney →
  Iron-mineral spine for a charcoal-grilled T-bone.
• Aged Parmigiano with chestnut honey
  Sweet umami amplifies the wine's mid-palate weight.

History

Paolo De Marchi's flagship, born from a refusal to dilute his best Sangiovese with white grapes as Chianti Classico law required at the time. EPI Group acquired the estate in 2022; Cepparello continues under the new ownership.

1. 1980 — First vintage of Cepparello
2. 2022 — Estate acquired by EPI Group

Facts

Producer

Isole e Olena

Grapes

Sangiovese (100%)

Classification

Toscana IGT

Oak

20 to 22 months in French oak barriques, partly new

ABV

14.0%

Price

EUR 80 to 130 at retail

Drinking window

5 to 20 from vintage

First vintage

1980

Scores

• Wine Advocate 96 (2019 vintage, reviewed 2022)
• Vinous 96 (2019 vintage, reviewed 2022)

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