2011 - Cepparello, Isole e Olena, Toscana

The 2011 Isole e Olena Cepparello is a special version of Cepparello because it was such a hot, dry year. Paolo de Marchi says he ‘thought he was going to end up with an Amarone’, a wine made of dried grapes, so he very cleverly returned to the best practices of the past. In the 2011 he added 5% Trebbiano to increase the acidity and the freshness and to make a more harmonious and balanced wine. The wine is medium to full bodied with a delightful texture and dark cherry, crushed roses and spice flavors encased in a very lovely, vibrant acidity. What a fantastic job de Marchi has done with this wine.

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.