11/30/2022 - Hi.its.Don.4.Wine Likes this wine:

Etruscan I Am Not

Why is Etruscan even mentioned in my article today? Let’s start our history lesson by explaining things. I’ll keep it short.

The Etruscan civilization were people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered at its greatest extent, roughly what is now Tuscany. That’s it, end of the history lesson.

It’s relevant as the wine today comes from Tuscany and just so happens to use the Etruscan symbol for the letter T on their wines. Appropriate as the wine today is the

Tolaini Valdisanti 2018

Before I move on to the wine, I did want to explain why not being Etruscan is an issue. You see, as I was researching the wine, I read about an ancient symbol that was found on the property and is an equivalent to our modern-day T. They felt it was the perfect symbolism for their winery “Tolaini.” Makes sense.

Not one to let things lie, I did some checking of my own.

Unfortunately, my research concluded that the symbol they use is actually the equivalent of our modern-day U, not T. What do you do when faced with such a quandary? Go to the source I always say. Sending my email halfway around the world (I’m guessing at the distance), I posed the information to the winery directly to see what gives.

There was a brief hesitation on my part in sending that email. After all, I was challenging their iconic symbol. If I was wrong, I could easily accept that outcome; I’ve been wrong many times before. If I am right, what does the winery do? Ignore my request and with my limited audience, the issue will likely just go away. They could find that they are wrong, which has significant repercussions; while they could keep the symbol, if they wanted to change it, it would likely require some major modifications where that symbol is being used.

Awaiting the outcome of the mystery, let me focus on the more important issue; the wine (at least for me and other wine drinkers). The wine emerged dark with fruit overcoming the senses. There are dark blue and blackberry notes on the palate with just a touch of plum. Dusty tannins that are softer help present the wine as medium to full-bodied. Softer spice notes finish the wine, making for a lovely experience.

Tolaini is also a winery that practices sustainable farming to respect the environment and the biodiversity of the land. The grapes come from the area in the Chianti Classico district within Tuscany, Italy, and the wine is composed of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Cabernet Franc. After fermentation in French Oak, the wine is then aged in French Barriques for 16 months, 6 months of which the wine spends resting on the fine lees. The attention to quality is not lost as the wine received reviews of 92, 94, and 95 Points. A string of excellent vintages should help cement newer wines.

As for the outcome of my query. The winery did respond with the explanation that there are many versions of the letter and acknowledged that the U and T are similar. The part I didn’t take into consideration was how those letters might “sound,” pointing out that both letters may have been used interchangeably as they sound the same, likely in Etruscan. That’s why, after all, the English language has homonyms and homophones.

It's safe to say, that their use of the symbol is secure and warranted. Whew, I wouldn’t have wanted to create a world-shattering event, there’s enough of that without my butting into things. Besides, it’s so cute!

Cheers

7/29/2021 - mlawren1 wrote:

Smooth and velvety. Muted fruit but plums and currants come through on finish.

4/16/2017 - rfras wrote:

Bottle was full of sediment. Very disappointing since it has been sitting in a 55 degree environment for 10 years.