‘Mr. Sangiovese’: Paolo de Marchi’s Passion & Creativity Produce Elegant Wines

Paolo de Marchi is known throughout Tuscany as “Mr. Sangiovese.” But what many might not know is that his winemaking career actually began about 300 miles to the northwest, in his family’s small Barolo estate in Piedmont. In the 1950s, many were giving up viticulture, after phylloxera had destroyed many grapevines. Yet, Paolo’s father decided to make a move to the Chianti region. There, he purchased two adjacent small estates, Isole and Olena. This was the birth of Isole e Olena.

In 1976, at the age of 25 and fresh out of agricultural school, Paolo took over the property. At this time, the Chianti Classico designation had confusing rules. When the first appellations were set in the late 1960s, the wine laws unfortunately focused on quantity and not quality. Therefore, Paolo’s first wine was a Sangiovese blended with white grapes – Chianti was legally required at this time to include Trebbiano and Malvasia in the blend.

As a result, Paolo became a part of a small group of winemakers in Tuscany who wanted to shift the focus of winemaking back to quality. He studied the vineyard, vine by vine, to determine the potential of the Sangiovese grape and making wines that fell outside of the Chianti Classico designation’s rules. As Paolo has said, “It is much easier to make red wines using red grapes.” De Marchi made his first 100% Sangiovese, Cepparello, in 1980 and had to label it as an IGT (the least-strict Italian wine certification).

Isole e Olena 2015 Cepparello:
“The 2015 Cepparello is pliant and racy, with lovely floral top notes to match its gracious personality,” according to Vinous’s Antonio Galloni. “There is good depth to the dark red/purplish fruit, while silky tannins give the wine plenty of immediacy. Time in the glass brings out attractive rose petal and lavender notes to round things out ... it should drink well right out of the gate.” – Vinous

Looking for something creative to do with the white grapes, Paolo decided to dry out the Trebbiano and Malvasia from the vineyard for five months. He then pressed what little juice was left, and aged it in caratelli, or small barrels, for eight years to make Vin Santo, a Tuscan dessert wine dating back to medieval times.

Isole e Olena 2008 Vin Santo:
“A wine of grace and stature, the 2008 Vin Santo is gorgeous. There is plenty of texture and plushness, and yet the wine has more than enough acidity to play off the caramel, burnt sugar, dried cherry and floral notes. The wine’s midweight, understated style belies the 217 grams of residual sugar.” – Vinous

Paolo de Marchi spent the next two decades slowly and carefully replanting, improving the vineyards, and restoring the terraces while fine tuning his wines. He began to introduce foreign varietals such as Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay to his repertoire.

Isole e Olena 2016 Chardonnay:
“The 2016 Chardonnay is fresh, vibrant and beautifully articulated. Varietal notes abound. Light tropical notes, pineapple, mint and orchard fruit are all laced throughout. Partially blocked malolactic fermentation keeps the flavors bright. Creamy and layered, the 2016 is exquisite in its beauty. More importantly, this is one of the very few Tuscan Chardonnays that merits serious consideration.” – Vinous

Isole e Olena 2015 Syrah:
“The 2015 Syrah is a total stunner. Bright, polished and impeccably nuanced, the 2015 is all class. Here, too, the purity of the flavors is simply remarkable. Today, the 2015 is quite primary and in need of at least several years in bottle to be at its very best, and yet all the ingredients are there for that to happen. A touch of whole clusters and drops of Viognier add an attractive floral upper register. Stated simply, the Syrah is a wine of precision and class. Only Paolo De Marchi can make Syrah of this level in Tuscany.” – Vinous

Eventually, the laws began to change, and as of 2006, white grapes can no longer be used in Chianti production.

Isole e Olena 2014 Chianti Classico:
“The 2014 Chianti Classico is one of the prettiest and most refined wines of the vintage. Sweet red cherry, raspberry, mint and white pepper give the 2014 much of its signature brightness and vibrancy. The cool, late-ripening season produced a lithe Chianti Classico with salivating acidity and mid-weight structure. Of course, those are qualities the Isole e Olena wines tend to have in most vintages, but in 2014, they are accentuated. I imagine the biting acidity will give the 2014 many years of life in the cellar.” – Vinous

He had played a leading role in the rebirth of Chianti Classico, but it was Paolo’s desire to return to his family’s origins in Piedmont. That dream was realized in 1999, when he and his son, Luca, embarked on the passion project of restoring the Castle of Lessona, back in via Sperino, to its former winemaking glory. The Sperino castle had been dormant for over three decades and the vineyards had been overrun by forest, but Luca and Paolo cleared the trees and replanted the vineyards, and in 2004, after an arduous reconstruction, they released their first vintage. Today, Luca is proprietor and winemaker of Propreità Sperino. Luca’s goal is to obtain the highest-quality wines, while fully adhering to the tradition of Lessona. Here, the unique climate combined with the sandy soils instill the Nebbiolo grape with one-of-a-kind, qualitative characteristics — characteristics that have made Luca’s wines exceedingly popular.

Proprietà Sperino 2012 Lessona:
“Structured, vibrant and boasting extreme elegance, this radiant Nebbiolo opens with enticing scents of iris, violet and crushed aromatic herb. The chiseled palate has wonderful intensity and precision, delivering red cherry, raspberry compote, star anise and Lessona’s classic salty finish. It’s still young and nervous but impeccably balanced, with taut, refined tannins and firm acidity. Give it time to unwind and fully develop.” – Wine Enthusiast

Like his father, Luca has taken a few steps outside of the norm, one of which has been producing his Rosa del Rosa rosato wine. Luca jokes that when his conventional father learned of this venture, he sent Luca a large photo of his eye to be hung in his office to let him know he was watching. Jokes aside, the rosé was a risk that paid off. Luca admittedly enjoys taking tedious notes in order to ensure that each vintage is better than the last.

Proprietà Sperino 2018 Rosato Rosa del Rosa (Piedmont) Piemonte, Piedmont:
“Luminous pink color. Lively, mineral-accented aromas of violet, orange zest, strawberry plus a complicating hint of herbs. A rather powerful Rosato in the mouth, but also juicy and refreshingly brisk, offering very pure mineral-accented but ripe red berry and citrus flavors underscored by a floral quality. Finishes classically dry and clean, with delightful clarity, cut and repeating ripe red berry presence. The grapes come from four different vineyards, one of which, the Madonna degli Angeli, harbors vines that range 45-90 years of age.” – Ian D’Agata

The wines from both Isole e Olena and Proprietá Sperino aren’t so much about power, but rather elegance and finesse, which are the central threads that noticeably run through all of the wines. Paolo de Marchi is a pioneer with a passion. When praised for his achievements in the wine industry, he responds, “I’m just trying to do what I believe in.”