2022 Isole-e-Olena Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
Super-restrained citrus profile with notes of bitter lemon peel and yellow grapefruit, both enhanced by delicate toastiness. The attack is polished, with a medium body, lifted integrated acidity, a zesty grip at the end and a mellow, hedonistic yet always tense texture. How improved this wine is compared to the past. Drink or hold.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
The Isole e Olena 2022 Chardonnay Collezione Privata is full of spirit and character thanks to a vein of spice and cinnamon that folds into nectarine and poached pear. I love the unabashed intensity of this warm vintage. The acidity is present, and the bouquet is singing strong. That medley of ripe fruit and oak spice pushes over the medium to full-bodied mouthfeel and gives the wine long persistence.
The 2022 Chardonnay Collezione Privata is an elegant, super-sleek wine. Hints of apricot, dried flowers, chamomile and hazelnut are framed by a discrete kiss of French oak. Medium in body and refined, the 2022 is quite impressive, especially for the year. This is the first time the Chardonnay was done with blocked malolactic fermentation, an approach that worked especially well in this very dry, warm year.
Hints of cinnamon over apple and orange. Creamy, lemony palate with nutty oak notes that dominate the finish. Clearly from a hot year and very long, but lacks a little in nerve and complexity. (WS)
About the producer
Situated north of Castellina, on the western side of Chianti Classico, Isole e Olena was created by the De Marchi family in the 1950s and has since become one of the region’s leading names. It is renowned for its top bottling Cepparello, a pure Sangiovese, as well as its brilliant Chardonnay.