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All tasting notes
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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 94.6 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 21 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by chmorc on 3/29/2024 & rated 93 points: Drank this on the first day over several hours, then corked it to be had two days later.
On the first day:
- in the first hour, the fruit notes tended towards ripe strawberries with racy acidity and a very short finish
- 3 hours in, the wine transformed towards dark fruits with blueberries, plums, lovely spice and tobacco notes with a medium long finish. The tannins were grippy, definitely will hold on to my other bottles longer. (1552 views) | | | Tasted by TMOVino2 on 3/3/2024 & rated 95 points: Such a wonderful wine. Sangiovese but with the French oak twist. Shows some darker cherry, pomegranate, tobacco, vanilla. Palate carries that Sangiovese line of acidity and tannic bite. Great now but should drink well for a long time
95+ tonight (1905 views) | | | Tasted by thewineengineer on 12/25/2023 & rated 91 points: Very young Cepparello that shows the wood use with a predominant oak notes’ presence rather than tannins that are fine and well managed. The nose veer towards creamy nuances rather than fruity, but the structured and very long mouth is done for long term. Now 91, then can be 94. (434 views) | | | Tasted by Costes76 on 9/28/2023 & rated 94 points: Deep, robust, luscious, musky but not overwhelming with solid balance and an elegant and structured finish. Great stuff. (4456 views) | | | Tasted by ShadowIII on 8/14/2023 & rated 94 points: tasted blind, big wine, dark fruits, dark cherry, blackberry, currants, spice, vanilla, solid structure, long finish, this is a beauty (4076 views) | | | Tasted by TMOVino2 on 8/11/2023 & rated 97 points: easily my WOTN. Such an exceptional wine. The Cepparello was amazing. Sangiovese aged in French oak. You get the red fruits (cherry, pomegranate, blood orange), baking spices from oak, vanilla, some tobacco, and creaminess but with a classic Sangiovese line of acidity. Extremely drinkable now but could also age a couple decades I imagine. Paired amazing with Italian style pasta and Kim’s homemade focaccia bread. I need more of these wines. I can see how it scored highly 97+ for me today and a bit irresistible at the moment. (3920 views) | | | Tasted by D'Yquembe Mutumbo on 7/25/2023 & rated 94 points: This is really lovely stuff now and will only get better over the next 10-15 years. If you have a case, pop open a bottle out of curiosity, but if not wait on it for now and enjoy in 2030. Great buy right now at $100. (3607 views) | | | Tasted by ShadowIII on 5/31/2023 & rated 94 points: Dark ruby, rich dark cherry, spice, cedar, elegant yet powerful, long finish, tasted at Isole e Olena with Paolo Marchi who has sold the winery and is returning to his origins in Lessona Alto Piemonte (3865 views) | | | Tasted by Jonnhy99 on 5/19/2023 & rated 93 points: LCBO Tasting
This 100℅ Sangiovese is smooth elegant, and juicy. Probably the best cherry note I have tasted in Sangiovese or any wine perhaps. Orange, dried herbs, and mushrooms round out the palate. Not a complex wine yet, but this has not even begun its journey. Lovely stuff so far. (2380 views) | | | Tasted by Rote Kappelle on 5/14/2023 & rated 95 points: The other notes on site do a good job of describing the characteristics of this wine. I will add that length and intensity are exemplary. The wine is not integrated right now - no surprise. The not inconsiderable oak element stands somewhat apart from the fruit. I find the fruit to be a near perfect expression of Sangiovese. A part of me wonders if this fruit needs the oak, but that is not the Cepp style.
I am not troubled by the oak, because history and the quality of the fruit here give me great confidence that with 5-10 years this will integrate into one of the really great Cepparello's and it will be a comparative 'budget' Super Tuscan.
I found this a very exciting wine. 2019 sometimes produced wines a little low in acid and a little too big in terms of fruit, with a loss of typicity and regionality, but not this one. What a fantastic last wine for the team that brought Cepparello into existence. I bought some on strength of past performance and the vintage and will buy more now I have tasted the wine. (2789 views) | | | Tasted by wineappreciation on 3/7/2023 & rated 93 points: Cranberry, leather, black cherry, powerful nose; young and bold, powerful but graceful, structured but fruitful and accessible; excellent potential (2353 views) | | | Tasted by cktb2793 on 2/28/2023: Paolo di Marche has sold Isole e Olena to the EPI Group, so this will be one of the last where he is in charge of the winemaking - perhaps an end of an era for a totally iconic Italian wine!
https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/isole-e-olena-sold (2885 views) | | | Tasted by Gunakadeit on 12/28/2022 & rated 95 points: I’m not the biggest Galloni guy, but the notes from his review are spot on at this point: bright fruit (pomegranate) “with hints of blood orange, spice, cedar, mint and tobacco.” Fine tannins, elegant. (3042 views) | | | Tasted by Joshvoulters on 11/28/2022 & rated 94 points: Classy and restrained: this has a wonderful transparency and clarity to its layers: sweet cherry, leather, smoke, spice. Everything is beautifully balanced with a medium body, fine tannins and fresh acidity. It's going to improve in bottle too (3130 views) | | | Tasted by Biggsy on 11/3/2022 & rated 95 points: Lay & Wheeler Italy Growers' Tasting: Brief notes: Red fruits and floral notes on the note. It's elegant yet powerful, there's tobacco and red fruits, a herbal character and a floral lift. The tannins are young and fine, but it's very good. (2993 views) |
| By James Button
Decanter, Cepparello vertical (1/18/2023)
(Isole e Olena, Cepparello, Sangiovese, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (7/21/2022)
(Isole e Olena Toscana Cepparello, Italy) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Chianti Classico and Beyond – 2018 & 2019 (Sep 2021) (9/1/2021)
(Isole e Olena Cepparello Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Chianti Classico & Neighbors: Looking at the 2020s and 2019s (Jul 2022)
(Isole e Olena Cepparello Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Decanter and JamesSuckling.com and Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Isole e Olena Producer website
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)
Producer Location (Google Maps)2019 Isole e Olena Cepparello Toscana IGTProducer tasting notes: "Isole e Olena Cepparello is a pleasant pure Sangiovese. Ruby in color with purple hues, it offers the nose a beautiful range of aromas, from blackberry to violet, beautiful shades of oak and a slight balsamic hint. In the mouth it gives a great structure with soft and enveloping tannins. Ideal in combination with second courses based on game, beef stew, roasted wild boar and seasoned pecorino." - Isole e OlenaSangioveseSANGIOVESE: (Pronounced "sahn-joh-vhe-se").
Sangiovese - Italy's claim to fame, the pride of Tuscany. Traditionally made, the wines are full of cherry fruit, earth, and cedar. It produces Chianti (Classico), Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montepulciano, Montefalco Rosso, and many others. Sangiovese is also the backbone in many of the acclaimed, modern-styled "Super-Tuscans", where it is blended with Bordeaux varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc) and typically aged in French oak barrels, resulting a wine primed for the international market in the style of a typical California cabernet: oaky, high-alcohol, and a ripe, jammy, fruit-forward profile.[16]
Semi-classic grape grown in the Tuscany region of Italy. Used to produce the Chianti and other Tuscan red wines. Has many clonal versions, two of which seem to predominate. The Sangiovese Grosso clone Brunello variety is used for the dark red, traditionally powerful and slow-maturing "Brunello di Montalcino" wine. The other is the Sangiovese Piccolo, also known under the historical synonym name Sangioveto, used for standard Chianti Classico DOC wines. Old vine derived wine is often used in the better versions, needing several years ageing to reach peak. A third clone, Morellino, is used in a popular wine blend with the same name found in the southern part of the province. Recent efforts in California with clones of this variety are very promising, producing medium-bodied reds with rich cherry or plumlike flavors and aromas. Among the available clonal versions are R6 and R7, derived from the Montalcino region of Italy, having average productivity/ripening and producing small berries on medium size clusters. R10 and R24 are well-recommended. R23, listed as deriving from the Emilia-Romagna region, has good vigor with medium-small clusters with earlier ripening. R102 derives from the Montepulciano region and reported to have average vigor with moderate productivity that results in higher sugar levels and good acidity from medium-small berries on medium-small clusters. Has synonym name of Nielluccio where grown in Corsica.Italy Italian Wines (ItalianMade.com, The Italian Trade Commission) | Italian Wine Guide on the WineDoctorTuscany Tuscany (ItalianMade.com) | TuscanytToscana IGTHere is the Wikipedia entry for Toscana wine. |
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