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Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
History: The concept and style of 'Cepparello' was developed by Paolo De Marchi over a period beginning on the mid 1970’s. The wine is named after a small stream, Borro Cepparello, originating in the highest point of the vineyards on the Isole e Olena estate. The label is an original nineteenth century design used by the De Marchi family winery, Proprietà Sperino, in Northern Piemonte. First vintage 1980.
Fruit Sources: Each vintage the grapes for 'Cepparello' are hand selected from the best sites on the estate. The vineyards are situated 400 meters above sea level, facing mostly southwest.
Harvest: Harvest is done by hand, usually during the second and third week in October.
Vinification: After crushing, the must is fermented in oak vats on the skins for about three weeks, with delestage (rack and return) and is pumped over twice a day. During fermentation, temperatures reach up to 30-32°C. Delestage is a method of extraction used during the fermentation, which produces wines of good color and softer tannins. The maceration tank is emptied of fermenting must, the cap allowed to dry out for two to three hours and then the must is gently poured back over the cap. After malolactic fermentation, the wine is racked into barrels. It is 100% barrel-aged, 1/3 in new, 1/3 in one year old oak and the remaining third is put into two year old oak. Most barrels are French oak, with a tiny presence of American oak (3-5%). The wine remains in barrel for 18 months and then ages in bottle for one year before release. It has the potential to age for 10+ years.
Vuosikerta 1995
1995 marked the beginning of a series of strong vintages. Indeed, 1995 itself was a year that saw tribulations transformed into triumphs. Spring started off nicely with warm weather only to turn rainy during the blooming period, which effectively stopped fertilisation at its halfway point. An extremely hot July made a dramatic transition into a chilly August. Excess moisture also led to the spread of mold-related diseases. This moisture, however, was duly evaporated by the Indian summer that followed, thus saving the vintage. In Piedmont August hailstorms destroyed as much as 70% of plantations in some areas. Tuscany was spared from the hail and the hot topic of discussion that autumn was the 45-day stretch without rain just before the harvest.
Wines from this vintage are very long-lasting and still require further bottle maturation to reach their full potential. In my opinion, the Chianti Classicos should be drunk right now, even though they could do with a bit more maturation.