This Super Tuscan Wine by Isole e Olena Isn’t Famous, but It’s Great
Since the emergence of the first Super Tuscans in the late 1970s, the plot line has been that they are made with “foreign” grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot rather than the native Tuscan Sangiovese grape. While that remains mostly true, a high-scoring 100 percent Sangiovese wine made by a powerhouse historic Chianti Classico producer has caught our attention thanks to its incredible consistency and high quality. With all the attention lavished upon the likes of Ornellaia, Sassicaia, and Tignanello, Isole e Olena Cepparello, an IGT Toscana wine first made in 1980, has flown under the radar for more than 40 years despite the fact that it has received extraordinary scores year after year since its inception.
Recent vintages of Cepparello have garnered scores between 94 and 99 from a variety of important scoring publications including Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, Vinous, Decanter, and JamesSuckling.com, where critic Aldo Fiorelli gave 99 points to the 2021 bottling, which has not yet arrived on our shores. The current market vintage, 2020, received a score of 98 by Antonio Galloni of Vinous, who referred to it as “a total stunner.” This makes perfect sense considering that the summer of 2020 offered dry, mild, and steady weather conditions until the end of August and that calm weather in September—after some bouts of pre-harvest rainfall—offered excellent results in the vineyard, according to estate director Emanuele Reolon.
Beginning with its first vintage in 1980, Cepparello was made by Paolo De Marchi, who left the estate when it changed hands in 2022; Reolon worked alongside De Marchi for one year. In the 1980s it was forbidden to bottle 100 percent varietal Sangiovese as Chianti Classico, so Cepparello fell into the vino de tavola, or “table wine” category before being reclassified as an IGT, or indicazione geografica tipica, a broader designation than DOC or DOCG for wines that fall outside the stricter regional classification. Until 1995, Chianti Classico regulations stipulated that wine labeled as such had to be 50 to 70 percent Sangiovese, 15 to 30 percent Trebbiano (a white grape), and up to 20 percent other red varieties. “Isole e Olena always believed in the quality potential of Sangiovese, which is why we made the decision to step outside the appellation to bottle Cepparello 1980 as a table wine,” Reolon says. “It is considered a Super Tuscan because, at the time, it was a wine that went ‘outside the rules,’” which was then considered revolutionary.
It’s a big-time wine.
Cepparello is produced from a selection of the best Sangiovese vineyards from across the entire estate, which runs between and around the hamlets of Isole and Olena. “This selection takes into account the year’s climate, the ripening progression, and the desired style of the wine,” Reolon tells Robb Report. Each parcel is vinified separately “to allow every plot to fully express its unique personality.” Vinification is carried out in conical French oak vats, and the wine is aged for 18 months in French oak casks. By contrast, Isole e Olena Chianti Classico undergoes fermentation in stainless steel tanks before undergoing 12 months of aging in a combination of Austrian and French oak casks.
Isole e Olena has 103 acres of vines located at 1150 to 1640 feet above sea level, but grapes from less than one quarter of those are destined for this Super Tuscan bottling. “Every year, we carefully select the vineyards from which to harvest Sangiovese grapes for Cepparello, based on the overall characteristics of the vintage and the quality of the grapes,” Reolon says. The estate boasts two main soil types, both considered ideal for the cultivation of Sangiovese. Galestro, surrounding Olena, is rich in limestone or iron, depending on the exact location, while alberese, found closer to Isole, is packed with clay and limestone throughout. Although most vines have southern and western orientation, some parcels face east and north, which offers a high degree of variety in the vineyards. “This variability allows for significant differences in grape ripening, grape structure, and ultimately, in the wines produced from each parcel,” Reolon says.
Isole e Olena 2020 Cepparello is deep ruby in the glass and offers aromas of black cherry, milk chocolate, rosemary, oregano, and orange peel. Luxurious tannins wrap themselves around purple plum, clove, cocoa powder, rosewater, and dried thyme flavors that linger into a pleasing long lasting finish marked with note of orange zest. If you are looking for a Super Tuscan that will excite your palate rather than your label-loving friends, look no further than Cepparello.
Authors
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Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen
