Message in a Bottle 2013

A wine made in Tuscany that comes from the estate owned by musician sting and producer Trudie Styler.

The nose displays aromas of cherries, wild blackberries and spices.The palate has a richness of fruit but one that is balanced both by careful use of oak and a refreshing acidity.

Cherrywood, tea leaves and bramble fruits can all be found on the palate. Supple fine grained tannins provide a lovely structure to this long and satisfying wine.

The land at Il Palagio has always been farmed. Purchased by the Martelli family in the late 1700s the estate grew as the family’s wealth did. 1819 saw the sale of the estate to Countess Carlotta Barbolani of Mantauto, the widow of the Duke of San Clemente, and remained in this family’s hands for around 150 years.

Duke Simone Vincenzo Velluti Zati di San Clemente commissioned a number of new buildings at the start of the 20th Century, including an oil mill, grain store and wine production area. However, when its current owners, Sting and Trudie, first found the estate in 1999 it had fallen into a state of disrepair.

Sting and Trudie set themselves the task or restoring the house, its outbuildings and the land to their former glory. The Villa Il Palagio overlooks the distant Tuscan hills and countryside from its perch at the top of a long and steep driveway. The estate is approximately 250 hectares in size, much of which belongs to forest and a number of stunning lakes.

Paolo Caciorgna is winemaker at Il Palagio. Tuscan born and bred, he comes from a wine producing family and his experience within the industry as an oenologist has taken him across to California and France, but has always felt that Italy is where his heart belongs. He consults for over thirty of the finest wine producers in his native country, including over twenty in Tuscany alone.