Isole e Olena Cepparello 2020 (750ML)

98 VM / 97 FS / 96 WA / 96 WS / 94 JS / 17++ JR

#80 Wine Spectator Top 100 2023

The 2020 Cepparello is a total stunner, just as it was last year. Deeply colored, layered and explosive in the glass, the 2020 possesses striking textural richness and overall intensity. Black cherry, graphite, plum, spice and lavender flesh out effortlessly. There's tremendous pedigree and sheer stature here. Cepparello is surely one of the wines of the year. -- Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Bright, intense ruby red with a slight purple hue. On the nose, beautiful savoury notes, some cinnamon, then plums and chocolate. Wonderful juicy fruit on the palate, crisp and fresh, finely meshed tannins, very long, supple and juicy. - Othmar Kiem and Simon Staffler, Falstaff

Supple and smooth, the 2020 Cepparello brings Sangiovese to soaring heights in a manner only Paolo De Marchi can manage. This is his second to last vintage before he would retire and sell this historic estate. The wine opens to medium to full-bodied concentration with dark plum and redcurrant. Those cede to sweet spice, earth, crushed stone, rusty nail and candied orange peel. Give the wine more time to flesh out with cellar age. - Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate

Expressive and sumptuous from the get-go, this red features cherry, strawberry, rose, orange peel, mineral and Tuscan herb aromas and flavors. Sangiovese. Best from 2025 through 2045. 4,800 cases made, 800 cases imported. - Bruce Sanderson, Wine Spectator

Attractive red and dark berries with dried flowers, nutmeg and cocoa powder. Dried orange peel and wet earth, too. Medium- to full-bodied, toned and steady with fine-grained tannins that are slightly chalky. Polished and even with a lingering finish. Try after 2026.-James Suckling

Dark ruby. Enticing, lifted, rich cherry laced with the perfect dose of oak. Polished, full, concentrated and supple on the palate; suave and long, with finely ground tannins woven into the succulent fruit. Quite rich and full-bodied on the finish and clearly a very ambitious wine, but could do with a little more of Sangiovese’s bite. That may come with more age.-Walter Speller, JancisRobinson