Wine: Toscolo: Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG

Tuscany

Tuscany continues to charm and enchant the world over while books and films are forever trying to capture the beauty and mystic of the region. With its rich history, art, music, food and wine, there is very little to disappoint. Chianti is easily the most well known of Italian wines while Brunello is considered one of the most prestigious. Yet, the wines of Tuscany have not always been recognized for quality and have just recently experienced a renaissance,
after years of being focused on quantity. The initial movement developed in Chianti in the early 1970’s has become a region wide effort that has brought forth serious focus on clonal selection, vineyard management, and winery technologies, allowing a progression in quality unmatched anywhere in the country. The growing success, while focused on the Sangiovese based wines of Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and most recently, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano,
has spread to the entire region incorporating areas not understood even 30 years ago for their potential.
This phenomena of rapidly improving quality spread to incorporate wines that while not DOC were still considered of superior quality. The lack of an official status could not prevent the unofficial designation “Super Tuscan” from becoming part of the vernacular. As awareness increased, many of these wines achieved their own IGT or DOC status. Ironically, it is often misunderstood that Cabernet and Chardonnay have a long history within Tuscany and were
not introduced to satisfy international demand. Cabernet has been grown for over 250 years and while maybe not known by the Romans it certainly isn’t a newcomer to the region!
(Chardonnay dates back easily 150 years).
Roughly 70% of the production is red but one white wine holds its own in quality. The DOCG for Vernaccia di San Gimagnano was the 1st awarded to ANY wine in Italy. A historical grape documented in the 1200’s, the wines today provide the perfect counterpart to the nobile
reds of Tuscany.

Toscolo

Think Tuscan. That’s Toscolo, labor of love from Neil & Maria Empson’s longtime passion for this extraordinary region. The name itself is a homage to Tuscany: a Renaissance Italian word, it means “Tuscan boy”. The Tuscan accent is even stronger on the palate: lush berry fruit, soft, appealing texture, well balanced tannins and a touch of iris and violets, this delightful, delightfully affordable range is the quintessence of Chianti.
The Empsons chose their friend and star oenologist Franco Bernabei to style the wines with Neil himself. Nothing was left to chance in order to make the Empsons’ proprietary brand their ideal Tuscan credentials.
Maria Gemma Empson personally designed the ultraclassic, ultrachic packaging.
As some of you may know, Maria is also an artist who went on to the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Tuscany, right after college in the States: there could hardly be a better combination to inspire a distinctively Toscolo label.
Availing itself of state-of-the-art facilities and teamwork, production derives from some of the region’s major Chianti terroirs and finest vineyards. Terrain and microclimates are intriguingly diverse: from compact, very fine-textured limestone, at an altitude of 400-450 meters above sea level, to rocky, clayey/calcareous areas, also at altitudes around 400 meters; and clayey/siliceous/calcareous soil, at an altitude of 250-300 meters.
Neil is thus able to ‘cherry-pick’ the best selections according to harvest conditions in the individual wine zones - this gives him leeway to maintain consistency and the highest quality with each vintage.
Attentive vineyard management, high density of vines per acre and correspondingly low crop yields, achieve maximum quality results from Toscolo’s fine locations.
Vinification is traditional, with a well balanced use of wood. The entire range combines fruit and finesse with that essential ‘bite’ which makes these wines particularly food-friendly and versatile.

This Riserva, from 90% Sangiovese, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot, achieves further depth, richness and elegance from its élevage, partly in large oak casks for 24 months, and partly in barrique for 6 months, previous to 3 months in the bottle. Top vintages improve for well over a decade.

• All