The name “Isole e Olena” was conceived in the 1950s when two adjoining estates, “Isole” and “Olena” were purchased by the De Marchi family and were combined to form one. The estate is located in the central part of Chianti Classico in the province of
The name “Isole e Olena” was conceived in the 1950s when two adjoining estates, “Isole” and “Olena” were purchased by the De Marchi family and were combined to form one. The estate is located in the central part of Chianti Classico in the province of Tuscany.
In the beginning of the 1950s the De Marchi family gradually began phasing out the sharecropping system, and new specialized vineyards were planted as well as the wine cellars expanded. Today the Isole e Olena estate is run by Paolo de Marchi and his family.
Paolo, widely known as one of Italy’s finest winemakers, and comes from a family with three generations of winemaking experience in the northern section of Piedmont. In 1976 he began managing the estate with the goal of combining his technical training with the desire to firmly establish the winery as one of the forerunners in Chianti. At that time the cellars were modernized and experimental vineyard plots were planted. The traditional 4-grape Chianti Classico blend was gradually altered to decrease the quantity of white grapes until none at all were used. Thus the Isole e Olena Chianti evolved from being a light, young wine to the fuller-bodied wine of today.
Syrah is an ancient grape from the Rhone Valley, which Paolo originally intended to use in order to add color and depth to his Chianti Classico (he feels that the Cabernet used in most Tuscan wineries can overwhelm Sangiovese) however, he has since decided that the best way to improve Chianti is by careful selection of Sangiovese (Chianti's principal grape), and is working to that end.
