Purchased by the de Marchi family in the 1960s, Paolo de Marchi has run the Isole e Olena estate for nearly 45 years and his impressive attention to detail has brought the estate up to be one of the Chianti region’s finest. Farming 41 hectares of prime Chianti terraces, they were one of the first to create a 100% Sangiovese wine, back in 1980, eschewing the local AOC rules and creating an IGT Toscana, named Cepparello. It was soon embraced by the world’s most discerning wine lovers and became the flagship of the estate and is now one of the most respected 100% Sangiovese wines on the market today. The grapes are picked entirely by hand, exclusively from the best sites, which sit at around 400 metres. American and French oak are used (1/3 new wood) after the fermentation – Paolo seeks the brioche and smoke notes from the French oak with the coconut notes and general richness achieved from the American, a recipe perfected over the years, which he feels allows the beauty of the fruit to shine through.
 
The 2019 has received a superb score from Antonio Galloni, of 96 points, who says it is “super impressive” and “shaping up to be absolutely stellar.” Enormous value when compared with the other great ‘Super-Tuscans’ on the market, though this may not be the case for long – earlier this year, Isole e Olena announced that they had been bought by the EPI Group, who, along with many impressive wineries, already own Charles Heidsieck Champagne and one of Chianti’s other great names, Biondi-Santi. Paolo will oversee the transition and training of the new winemaking team, imparting 45 years of knowledge, but this 2019 will be one of the last to be made by Paolo. Whilst the price paid for the estate has been kept a secret, it is unlikely to have been a small number, so we can realistically expect the future release prices to be a lot higher.

One of the finest 100% Sangiovese wines available today, Cepparello has always seemed a notch below its most famous peers, but not any more. The 2019 is a triumph, and it has recently received a perfect score from Susan Hulme MW, writing for The Wine Independent (a relatively new publication, set up by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, ex Managing Editor of the Wine Advocate). I adored this wine when i tasted it in 2022, and feel the notes and score are well deserved.