Isole e Olena Chianti Classico DOCG 2021

Among Tuscany's finest estates, renowned for their 100% Sangiovese flagship Cepparello, Isole e Olena has created one of the 2016 vintages most exceptional Chianti Classicos.

The Isole e Olena Chianti Classico is a gorgeous, racy wine laced with bright red cherries, flowers and herbs, all of which comes together in the refined, medium-bodied style that is the house signature. It is vibrant, perfumed and impeccable in its overall balance. Good ruby-red. Lovely floral aromas of plum, redcurrant, sweet spices and violet. Sweet, lush and round, with a slightly high-toned quality that adds appeal to the red fruit flavors. Silky smooth, with textural depth, complexity and elegance, it displays all the pedigree of the vintage. Finishes broad and long, with ripe tannins. Thoroughly overachieving for its price point it is fantastic value.

The 2016 vintage is great across Tuscany – as in Bordeaux, Piemonte, the Douro and the Rhône. A balanced, even growing season, it has given a perfect blend of fruit that’s ripe but not overripe, and so able to show aromatic nuances and express place with acidity retaining freshness, and tannins that have highly desirable ripeness and elegance.This wine reflects 2016 beautifully. With a core of ripe cherry, there’s a delightful orange-peel or coriander-seed lift with dusty, earthy notes. A blend of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo, 5% Syrah

Estate-grown, hand-harvested grapes are fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks with approximately 15 days maceration. During fermentation, delestage and pumping-over takes place twice a day. After malolactic fermentation, the wine is racked into barrels and 4,000 liter casks where it matures for about one year in a mix of 225-litre barrels (of which just 5% were new), 4,000-litre and 2,700-litre casks adds subtle nutty complexity. The wine has great transparency and clarity of flavour, with the bright acidity typical of 2016 carrying that cherry scent through its long finish.
Its tannins are subtle, and melt into a silky, ethereal quality, meaning that it is both drinking superbly now and will give great pleasure over the next five years.