Toscolo is a fascinating testament to the fact that fine wine really does break down boundaries, bring people together, and allows for rulebooks to be ripped up and re-written with flavour, character, and excellence at the fore. The owners of this brilliantly contradictory label are Neil and Maria Empson, who as their names suggest, are not native Tuscans!
Once upon a time, the idea of outsiders setting up a winery in this most hallowed of Italian wine regions would have been beyond belief. Thankfully, times have changed. That’s not to say that Neil and Maria don’t have wine in their blood; Neil comes from a winemaking family in New Zealand (indeed, his grandfather was one of the original Marlborough region pioneers), and Maria is from Rhode Island, but studied art in Florence where she developed a real love for Italian red wines.
Maria and Neil’s New World approaches are counterbalanced by their close friend Franco Bernabei, a local winemaker with international experience. The road which led to Toscolo was certainly an unorthodox one, but Neil and Maria produce the real deal: a luscious set of Sangiovese and Vernaccia wines and blends which prove that passion really is the key to success.
Toscolo Vernaccia comes from the village of San Gimignano, a towered medieval town that is one of Tuscany’s finest gems. The beauty of the wine echoes the village. Delicately aromatic with a bouquet of white flowers, pear and honeysuckle with a firm citrussy freshness, there is a suggestion of green almond on the finish. Juicy yet balanced acidity bring the wine to a thirst-quenching close.
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