2011 Il Palagio "Message in a Bottle" Rosso Toscana IGT 750 ml

91pt “Message in a Bottle” — Sting, Trudie Styler Dinner on Central Park West

Silicon Valley billionaires, professional athletes, and rock ‘n’ roll stars are prone to throwing small fortunes into wineries and vineyards — more often than not, indiscriminately. But if you ever make the turn up the long cypress-lined driveway to Il Palagio, you’ll quickly understand that Trudie Styler and her famous husband made no such mistake.

Gordon Sumner was born in the shadows of the shipyards of Newcastle, England. As a young student and schoolteacher he began moonlighting as a bassist in the clubs around town. One night, he picked up a nickname after wearing a yellow-and-black sweater onstage. From that moment on, Sumner’s friends started calling him “Sting.”

A few years later, Sting recruited two musicians and formed a band. It wouldn’t be long before The Police was playing to packed houses in London, Paris, and Rome. Invariably, after an encore or two, when the bassist and singer returned to his dressing room, he’d find gifts from fans and well-wishers. More often than not, among those gifts were bottles of French and Italian wine. Sting knew plenty about ale but little about wine, so he gave all the bottles to a roadie friend, Danny Quatrochi, who began building a collection.

Ultimately, it would be Quatrochi’s love affair with Tuscan reds and the great Sangioveses of Brunello di Montalcino that led Sting and his wife Trudie to purchase a neglected but historic estate outside of Figline Valdarno.

When Trudie told us the story of Il Palagio, there were just 12 at the dinner table of the penthouse apartment on Central Park West (our invitation had been most unexpected). In the early 1990s, the couple was living in the Lake House in Wiltshire, England, when they began looking for a vineyard property in Tuscany. After several years of searching, Sting’s interest was flagging. But when Trudie persuaded him to make one final tour, and her husband laid eyes on this timeless yellow villa set on 650 acres of rolling hills, Sting was hooked.

If you tend to question the seriousness or resolve of rock-star vineyard owners, this morning you can lay that skepticism to rest. The 2011 “Message in a Bottle” is comprised largely of ripe Sangiovese, assembled with equal additions of plump Syrah and Merlot. Deep ruby in color, infused with aromas of black raspberry, blackberry, and smoky graphite. Rich, unusually dense, and compact for an under-$20 IGT, filled with black- and red-fruit preserves, it finishes with sturdy backbone and classic Tuscan “dusty” tannins. Serve at 62 degrees. Drink now-2018.

91 points from James Suckling. $25 on release. Just $15.99 this morning — ONLY on WineAccess — courtesy of Trudie Styler and the bassist/singer in yellow-and-black.