Isole e Olena Chianti Classico 2021
The Isole e Olena estate is located in the heart of Chianti Classico, it covers 320 hectares, of which 55 are planted with vines and 45 with olives. The vines are planted on galestro soil at an altitude of 400 metres above sea level and face south west. The oldest vines on the estate were planted in 1958 and the youngest in 2007. Paolo De Marchi was one of the first producers in Chianti Classico to plant high density vineyards with new lower yielding clones of Sangiovese in the 1980s. In many cases he returned to the poor soils on hillside sites that had been abandoned when quantity took precedent over quality. As a result, Paolo gets better grapes, and hence better wines. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks with 12 days of maceration, délestage (or 'rack and return') and pumping-over twice a day. De Marchi first experimented with the délestage method in 1996 and subsequently began using it for all red wines from the 1997 vintage. Maturation lasted one year and took place in 225 litre barrel (of which 5% was new oak) and 4,000 and 2700 litre oak casks. The wine is then bottled and released after three to four months of bottle ageing. The Isole e Olena Chianti Classico, a blend of Sangiovese (83%), Canaiolo (15%) and Syrah (2%), is crimson in colour with typical sour cherry and bramble notes. The palate has a supple, lithe character full of perfumed fruit and is given depth by a mineral vein. Structure comes from the taut acidity and tannin structure.
