Isole e Olena Cepparello 2020

Winemaker Paolo de Marchi built the reputation for Isole e Olena through 45 years of hard work and innovation and became one of the most highly respected winemakers in all of the world. Fellow winemakers from all over the globe, from Santa Barbara to Sonoma, Burgundy to the Rheinhessen, hundreds of producers have made the pilgrimage to Isole e Olena to visit one of the world’s most magnificent properties, a 200-acre testimony to viticultural genius. We ourselves made this journey in late October 2024 and our breath was taken away by the unbelievably beautiful vistas and vineyards at Isole e Olena. The steep and winding roads up to this mecca of Chianti Classico was a ride we will never forget and a memory to be cherished.  

At the start of his journey at Isole, Paolo took control of a poorly-tended family estate, and over the course of a thirty-year career, transformed it into a jewel of Tuscany. In the beginning, he traveled, learning about viticulture in Piemonte, France and California. Paolo realized that Sangiovese was an incredibly temperamental variety and extremely difficult to bring to full maturity. When the grapes reached optimal sugar levels, they still had not reached physiological maturity, resulting in wines that were hard, under ripe, and brick in color. By the late 1990’s, Paolo headed a project called "Chianti 2000," where he partnered with other elite Tuscan producers, working with local oenologists and laboratories to study clonal options, vine spacing in the vineyards and sun exposure. The project helped develop new Sangiovese clones, specifically designed for the tight spacing and low yields that Paolo knew to be essential for creating world-class Sangiovese at Isole. His vineyards needed to be completely overhauled, a monumental task given the poor market conditions at the time. By 2001, the majority of Isole e Olena had been replanted, leaving only the old-vine Canaiolo as a reminder of Paolo’s first days at Isole. 

Isole and Olena are two tiny villages located on opposite ends of Paolo's estate. Rich forest gives way to beautiful hillside vineyards, which are planted in tightly-spaced rows of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Chardonnay. Paolo de Marchi always tended his vines naturally, to produce grapes that lend themselves to fine, aromatically complex wines. His goal was to make wine that best reflects the nature of his vineyards as well as the year, making powerful wines when the vintage allows it, and making elegant, pretty wines when appropriate. Today his methods and quality requirements are being continued by the new ownership, the EPI Group, owners of Charles Heidsieck champagne and Biondi-Santi in Montalcino.

The name Cepparello comes from a stream originating in the highest point of the vineyards on the Isole e Olena estate. Cepparello is the embodiment of the estate’s unwavering dedication to quality, to the land and to the Sangiovese grape. This complex, age-worthy wine was produced for the first time in 1980, becoming one of the first Super Tuscans. 

Each year, Cepparello is produced with a selection of grapes from the best and oldest estate vineyards, located on the Isole e Olena property in the north-western part of Chianti Classico.

SOIL: Mostly galestro (rocky schist & clay)

ELEVATION: 400–480 meters (1,312–1,574 feet) above sea level

DENSITY: Older vineyards: 3,000 vines/hectare (1,215 vines/acre)

New Vineyards: 6,500–7,350 vines/hectare (2,632–2,976 vines/acre)

EXPOSURE: South, Southwest

VINE AGE: 13–55 years old

TRAINING: Spur-pruned cordon and guyot