Il Palagio Baci Sulla Bocca Vermentino Toscana Bin End

With a name translating from Italian to “Kisses on the Lips” and a label featuring Eliott Erwitt’s stunning “A California Kiss” photograph, this is the first Il Palagio wine made from the hand of the famed winemaker Riccardo Cotarella, who joined the estate just before harvest. Both Ricardo and Trudie have a mutual obsession with the Vermentino grape, and their Baci Sulla Bocca Vermentino Toscana just smacks of fragrant peach, apricot and jasmine. Awakening the senses like a warm summer kiss, this limited-edition white also has lingering flavours of stone fruits and fleshy nectarines. Serve chilled as an aperitif or food wine.

Il Palagio is the 350 hectare Tuscan estate owned by musician Sting and his wife Trudie Styler.  Much of the land is given over to forest, incorporating some beautiful lakes. There is also a 2 hectare kitchen garden and several bee hives. The estate has always been farmed, ever since its early days in the 16th Century. When Sting and Trudie first came across the estate in 1999, it had by then fallen into a state of disrepair. They set about the task of lovingly restoring the house, the outbuildings and the land to their former glory. Sting has assembled a dream team to maximise the natural qualities of his estate, with consultant Alan York giving viticultural advice (the entire estate is run biodynamically), Paolo Caciorgna overseeing the winemaking and terroir with Paolo Rossi, as estate manager, looking after the land and its plants. From the mid-1500s Il Palagio has harvested, fermented and bottled its own wines. Sting and Trudie have gone to great lengths to keep the tradition alive. Using biodynamic farming methods, they have replanted 11 hectares of vineyards since 2000. Resulting in a number of fine Tuscan red wines including Casino delle Vie, Sister Moon and When We Dance. Grape varieties cultivated here include the classic Tuscan red grapes Sangiovese, Canaiolo & Colorino as well as the more internationally renowned Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot. The wines are matured in either stainless steel tanks or in new French barriques.