Isole E Olena Chardonnay Toscana IGT Collezione de Marchi 2008

The name “Isole e Olena” was conceived in the 1950’s when two adjoining estates, “Isole” and “Olena” were purchased by the De Marchi family and were combined to form one. The history of both estates dates back many hundreds of years, and the earliest documentation of the village of Olena as far back as the 12th Century. At the beginning of the 1950’s, the De Marchi family began gradually phasing out the sharecropping system. New specialized vineyards were planted and the cellars were expanded. Today the Isole e Olena estate is run by Paolo De Marchi, his wife Marta and his children. Paolo comes from a family with three generations of winemaking experience in the northern part of Piemonte. He has recently started working his grandfather’s estate near Gattinara, Villa Sperino, where Lessona is produced. His first vintage was released in 2006. <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Century Gothic"; panose-1:2 11 5 2 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> The 2008 Chardonnay is light gold in colour, with restrained, nutty perfumes giving way to a touch of spice on the palate and lovely rich, honeyed flavours, balanced by a lively, youthful freshness on the finish. 2008 began with rainy, humid weather which led to a very dry summer with high temperatures in July and August. Rain in mid-September favoured and slowed down maturation, as a result the white grapes such as the Isole Chardonnay were picked ripe but with just the right amount of acidity. After fermentation in barrel, the wine was kept on the lees in 1/3 new oak barrels for approximately 10 months. During the first six months the wine was stirred occasionally, in the Burgundian style, to give more texture and complexity to the wine.