Isole e Olena Collezione Privata Syrah 2021

Isole e Olena Collezione Privata Syrah

Region: Tuscany, Italy

Vintage: 2023

Bottle size: 75cl

Grape: Syrah

ABV: 14.5%

Intense and concentrated, this wine shows classic pepper and spice aromas. It is big and rich on the palate with excellent length.

The 3 hectares Syrah vineyards are located on a South/South-West facing slope at an altitude of 330 to 400 meters above sea level. Soil here is a mixture of limestone, clay slates and marl. Vines are 34-50 years old, planted with 2,800 to 5,000 vines per hectare. The training system is mainly Guyot with some Spur-pruned cordon. The first Syrah vines were grafted onto old Canaiolo vines in 1984. Paolo De Marchi's intention was originally to use the Syrah in the Chianti Classico blend, together with Sangiovese and Canaiolo.The 1984 Chianti Classico DOCG regulations permitted the addition of 10% of non-traditional grape varieties. So De Marchi planted in 1987 a new, two-hectare vineyard with Syrah clones from the Rhône, with high density of planting.

The grapes were 100% de-stemmed and fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, with ten days maceration on the skins. During fermentation, temperatures reached 26-30°C. Delestage and pumping over took place once a day. The wine spent one year in barrel, of which 20% was new French and American oak. It remained two years in bottle before release.

After fermentation in barrel, the wine remained on the lees in oak barrels, of which one third were new, for approximately ten months. During the first six months the wine was stirred occasionally, in the Burgundian style, to give more texture and complexity to the wine.

The name 'Isole e Olena' came about in the 1950s when two adjoining estates, 'Isole' and 'Olena', were purchased by the De Marchi family and combined to form one. The history of both estates dates back many hundreds of years, and the earliest documentation of the village of Olena goes as far back as the 12th century. During the 1950s, the De Marchi family planted specialised vineyards and expanded the cellars. Today, the estate is run by Paolo De Marchi and his wife Marta. Paolo comes from a family with three generations of winemaking experience in the northern part of Piemonte and his older son, Luca, now runs the family estate there, Proprietà Sperino.

https://www.isoleeolena.it