Isole e Olena Cepparello 2018

The Cepparello 2018 is intense and bright ruby in colour. On the nose, it has aromas of red fruits, cherries and wild berries with a touch of spice. On the palate, flavours of red cherries. The wine is earthy with a depth of complex savoury acidity and soft tannins.

2018 vintage was quite challenging. After a cold winter, spring started with great variability, alternating rainy and cold to sunny days. A very careful vineyard management was needed to prevent fungal diseases. On the beginning of June the weather improved, with more regular temperatures and rare rainfall, although July and August did not show extreme hot peaks as usual. In the end the result has been a good vintage in terms of quality although less generous in terms of quantity.

Harvest was made by hand during the second and third week in October. After crushing, the must fermented on the skins in oak vats for about three weeks at 30-32°C, with délestage and pumping over carried out twice a day to give good colour and soft tannins. The maceration tank was emptied of the fermenting must, the cap was dried out for 4-5 hours and then the must was poured back over the cap. After malolactic fermentation, the wine was racked into barrels. It was 100% barrel-aged, a third in new French and American oak (with American barrels making up 3-5% of the total), a third in one year old oak and the remaining third was put into two year old oak. The wine remained in barrel for 18-20 months and then matured in bottle for one year before release. The wine has a long potential of ageing.

“A pure expression of Sangiovese, the 2018 Cepparello is a beautiful expression that speaks to the classic and most exemplary side of this versatile and deeply expressive grape. This vintage is especially bright and ethereal with a true sense of luminosity and clarity that radiates from both the wine’s appearance and its fragrant bouquet. Tart cherry and cassis segue to balsam herb and wild violets. To the palate, the wine shows muscle and determination with sweet tannins and impressive depth of favor. Cepparello remains true to its unique identity in this vintage. Production is 42,000 bottles.” 2022- 2045
96 Points, Monica Larner. The Wine Advocate, Oct 07, 2021