Isole e Olena Cepparello Red IGT

A beautiful expression of Sangiovese that will become even more gorgeous with time. Isole e olena Cepparello's got a spot reserved in your cellar, to enjoy between 2023–2036.

Bright ruby red colour. Beautiful and seductive, with an impressive array of fruit and spice aromas. Black and red cherries, dark plum, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, the rich fruitiness of the wine is touched with oak and vanilla spice. The full-bodied and red fruit palate is well-balanced with velvety tannins and a fresh, persistent finish.

This flagship Cepparello is 100% Sangiovese aged in French oak barrels. One of Tuscany's most compelling wines, the style emphasises finesse over power. The name Cepparello is taken from an old stream, Borro Cepparello, originating in the highest point of the vineyards on the Isole e Olena estate. 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.

Today, only the top selection of grapes from the estate's vineyards in Barberino Val d'Else are used to create this wine. The vineyard is located in the northern part of Chianti Classico, situated 400 metres above sea level, facing southwest, with primarily galestro (schistous clay) soils. After a manual harvest and gentle crushing, the must ferments on skins in oak vats for 3 weeks at 30–32°C. Délestage and pumping over is carried out twice a day to give good colour and soft tannins. The maceration tank is emptied of the fermenting must, the cap dried out for 4–5 hours and then the must is poured back over the cap. After malolactic fermentation, the wine is racked into barrels. The wine is 100% barrel-aged, a third in new French and American oak (with American barrels making up 5% of the total), a third in one-year-old oak and the remaining third in two-year-old oak. The wine ages in barrel for 20 months and then matures in bottle for one year before release.