2013 - Cepparello, Isole e Olena, Toscana

This 2013 Isole e Olena Cepparello is sublimely fragrant with hints of lavender, rose, spice and tobacco. On the palate there is a lovely ripeness to the red cherry fruit encased in sweet tobacco flavors. The flavors are closer to the red fruit spectrum of 2007 and less cool and dark than the flavors in the 2010, but this time there is even more precision and definition in the fruit quality. It is like someone has turned up the brightness and focus. The tannins in the 2013 are much more refined, fine-textured and more perfectly ripe than in 2010. This is another extremely graceful wine and flows across the palate with brightness and ease. Achieving gracefulness like this in a wine can take a lifetime’s work!

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.