Isole e Olena Toscana Collezione Privata Syrah 2019

	Characterful, wood-matured red wine with depth
	From sticks from the Northern Rhône
	Grandiose at the table after several years of bottle maturation

Very powerful Syrah, Rhône vines in Tuscany

This impressive Syrah is actually a wine experiment that got out of hand. Paolo de Marchi, who specializes in sangiovese, decided to plant some syrah on his famous Isole e Olena in Chianti in the 1980s. He did not immediately intend to make it a monovarietal, but wanted to use the syrah grape as a blending partner for sangiovese.

However, it became love between Paolo and his syrah. Not only has he used a small amount of it in his Chianti Classico for many years, he also makes a small amount in purezza. This wine has now achieved almost as cult status as Paolo's Cepparello.

The plant material that Paolo uses comes from the Northern Rhône, the cradle of syrah. Syrah is not necessarily easy to grow in Tuscany, but the efforts are rewarded. The Chianti terroir gives the grapes a distinctive freshness.

The hand-harvested grapes ferment in stainless steel tanks, after which they mature for a year in barriques of predominantly French and partly American oak (20% new). After this, the wine matures in the bottle on the estate for another three years.


This Collezione Privata is the epitome of a perfect marriage between the Syrah grape and the terroir of Isole e Olena. A classic style Syrah, with intense, ripe cherry fruit, the characteristic black pepper, savory and meatiness, beautiful fresh acidity and subtle wood. It is not without reason that it is one of the best Syrah wines in Italy!

PRESS REF: Vinous: 96/100 points