TASTING NOTES

Intense, honeyed and just a little smoky, apricot and barley sugar. Bitter, top-notch orange marmalade then in the mouth a nutty lightly burnt caramel flavour, a little like a sweeter style of madeira but more moderate acidity.

Production: around 10 000 half bottles of 375 ml.

THE WINERY

The name "Isole e Olena" appeared in the 1950s, when the De Marki family bought and merged two neighboring wine properties: "Isole" and "Olena", each dating back hundreds of years. The winery is located in the heart of the Chianti Classico region, halfway between Siena and Florence.

VINEYARDS

The estate lies within the boundaries of the Chianti Classico DOCG, a few hours' drive south of Florence. It was formed from the purchase and consolidation of two neighboring properties – Isole and Olena – by the De Marchi family in the 1950s. In the 1970s, Isole e Olena began a push toward quality, and fourth-generation winemaker Paolo de Marchi began to improve viticulture and viniculture techniques to make better wines in smaller quantities.

VINIFICATION

The harvest is picked by hand at the end of September-October.

The grapes are dried for 4-5 months before pressing after which the must is racked into ‘caratelli’ (small barrels of varying composition) where it ferments and ages for 8 years before bottling.

The wine remains on the ‘madre’ or starter culture for the entire fermenting/ageing period, during which time it is neither racked nor filtered. At the end of the ageing period, the resulting wine will be only 12-15% of the initial weight.

FOOD PAIRING

Hard cheese, lamb, beef, pork, spicy foods, game.