2007 - Cepparello, Isole e Olena, Toscana

The 2007 Cepparello comes across as rich, round and totally seductive in this tasting. Stylistically, it shares many attributes with the 1990 and 1997, although in my view it is more elegant than those wines. There is an immediacy about the 2007 that is highly appealing, and which will make the wine accessible relatively early. Layers of fruit build beautifully to an exciting crescendo of aromas and flavors. This is an undeniably sexy Cepparello. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2027. Proprietor Paolo De Marchi has left an indelible and highly personal stamp on Isole e Olena, and all of Chianti Classico for that matter. Originally of Piedmontese descent, De Marchi stands apart from many of his colleagues for his vocal opinions and intense dedication to the vineyard above all else. Since taking over his family’s estate in the late 1970s, De Marchi has transformed Isole e Olena into a powerhouse. The flagship Cepparello is 100% Sangiovese aged in French oak barrels. This nearly complete vertical charts the history of one of Tuscany’s most compelling wines. The first Cepparellos were vinified in cement. The cellar was heated to induce malolactic fermentation and the wines were subsequently aged roughly equal parts Slavonian oak casks and smaller French oak barriques, with a dollop of chestnut barrels thrown into the mix. It was a time of enormous sacrifice, given that green harvesting was viewed as throwing money out of the window, and every purchase of new French oak barrels was accompanied by a stern reprimand from De Marchi’s father to pay attention to costs. But De Marchi persevered. The fruits of his hard labor and pricing are amply captured in these magnificent wines.Over the years Cepparello has acquired a level of finesse it rarely had at the outset. Some of the refinements include giving the wines more air in vinification and an increase in the period of elevage in oak from 12-14 months to 18-20 months, which is the norm today. De Marchi says he started gettin

This 2007 Isole e Olena Ceparello IGT has a garnet toned blood-ruby color. On the nose, ripe sweet cherry aromas mingle with a little dried fruit, orange rind, exotic spice, cream and sweet tobacco notes. There is a lovely range of aromas and flavors. On the palate the tannins are super-gentle. This is an extremely graceful wine and it is ageing beautifully now with wonderfully integrated tannins and some ripe cherry and cream fruit in the middle. Understated, graceful and elegant.