On the 24th of February 2003 Paulo di Marchi hosted a tasting in Oslo where we focused on the Cepparello. Here are the notes.
Chianti Classico 2000
We started off with a couple of Chianti Classicos. First from the light 2000-vintage. Paolo di Marchi talked a bit about the trend in using concentrators and he said he did not believe in them. He has the meaning that you can not take away "only" the water without changing the juice going into the wine. But he said that sellers of concentraters nowadays does big business in Tuscany. So the 2000 is a light vintage. The juice is according to Paolo di Marchi made from 85% sangiovese, 10% canaiolo and 5% syrah. He has added a little syrah in the CC since 1996. He feels it blends well with the sangiovese, but he does not like the use of cab.sauv. For those who wants statistics: it is oaked for 12-14 months in a mix of barriques and double-barriques with less than 10% new. Most barrels are french but also some american. So onto the wine. The colour is red and not deep - as it should not be in this vintage. The nose more earthy than I remember the 99. Some cherries. Typical sangiovese to me. Medium bodied. Not very concentrated, but fruit-driven juice. Good acids. Some oak noticable in the finish.
Chianti Classico 2001
This was a barrel-sample. Bottling is this month. There was some frost during the spring in 2001 which made this into a low-yielding vintage, almost 30% less than normal. The colour here is very deep for a Chianti. Some purple reflections. More depth in the nose with some viols shining through. But also more oaky-fat showing both in the nose and the mouth. Full-bodied. Slightly fat/oaky entrance. More closed than the nose, but concentrated stuff. Good acids again and more tannins. This will be very good, but needs time to integrate.
Cepparello 2000
Then on to a vertical of 4 Capparellos. The juice for Cepparello is 100% sangiovese aged 18 months in barriques (85% french/15% american) with 1/3 of new barrels. First from the light vintage which is bottled, but release-date is in May. "I don't hate light wines, if they have a clean fruit" Paolo di Marchi's words on the use of concentrators kept ringing in my head as I tasted this. The words tells pretty much what the Cepparello 2000 is all about. Yes it is lighter than what you expect from your usual Cepp and it will not last as long. But the deep red wine has a nice complex nose of earth, tobacco and slight animal fur. It is full-bodied, acidic and very good in the mouth. Quite open and drinking well already. Hints of tobacco, earth and leather.
Cepparello 1999
This is a younger wine than the 2000. It is deeper, more purple and has an intence nose with loads of cherry-depth. Tobacco and some floral high notes. Elegant. Full-bodied, concentrated, acidic, tight and closed. This needs time and will only develop positively from here. Tannic end. Drink the 2000 while wait 6-7 more years for this.
Cepparello 1997
The darkest wine of the night. The nose is more spicy, but with the same deep cherry-fruit and slightly floral notes. In the mouth it has a slightly fatter entrance, but this wine has a tremendous acidic backbone that you do not associate with the 97-vintage. Perhaps in it's slightly fatter style it is missing some of the elegance in the 99. The end here is tannic and it needs more time. This wine will have a long life.
Cepparello 1990
I hope I don't break any people's heart, but the 90 is simply not in the same class as the Cepp made during the last decade of the 90's. It is not a bad wine, but far from the quality that the Cepp has today and this was a disappointment. It simply tells that it is during the 90's that Isole e Olena has gained in quality and reputation. The 90 has a deep brick colour. Nose is mature and shows tobacco, leather, anise and earth. Full-bodied and acidic in the mouth and much more rustic than the three last wines. Lacking the high-class and the concentration. Fruit is mature, end is still somewhat tannic. I would drink this during the next 2-3 years.
Vin santo 1996
To end off the night we had the 96 Vin Santo from Isole and it was really a very good vin santo made from 65% malvasia and 35% trebbiano. Grapes dried before vinification. 15% alcohol and 140 gr/L. rs. Fermented and aged in caratello for 5 years. The juice has a dark/golden colour. Caramelly, oxidative nose with hints of raisins and some orange-peel. Full-bodied in the mouth, sweet, but with a tremendous acidic backbone. Great balance. Caramelly, nutty, slightly flowery taste. Not very complex. Long taste. This is a very good vin santo, but in another class (and price) than Avignonesi.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Feb-2003