The Vision
The Last Emperor by Kym Tolley is a wine that encompasses all that came before, the high ideals of quality, innovation, enthusiasm, and imagination. It is the culmination of his plan that reflects his personal touch to the great Australian style.
"The vision today is to expand on my eventful life in winemaking. To create great wines of substance, balance, flair, and an Australian edge, not entirely dependent on its specific region." - Kym Francis Tolley.
The Last Emperor is made with carefully selected parcels of fruit from specific vineyards in three iconic Australian regions - Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, and McLaren Vale.
"It is a wine of greater power and depth than previous wines, but still wrapped in a silky glove."
Kym Francis Tolley
The Brand Story
Kym Tolley Wine Co is the amalgamation of his fifty years of winemaking expertise and the passion for continuing a family legacy, coupled with an innate desire to expand on an eventful life in winemaking and to create great wines of substance, balance and flair, with an Australian edge.
The Last Emperor was how Kym’s long-serving Penfolds co-workers affectionally referred to him. He is the last winemaker in the Penfold family.
The Last Emperor, the wine by Kym Francis Tolley, is an opportunity to create another personal stamp and a new creative energy from all that went before him.
Visiting Penfolds in 1948, the extraordinary Helen Keller scribed her signature onto a vat Kym worked alongside for many years. In launching Kym Tolley Wine Co, Kym drew inspiration from Helen's formiddable footprint and life purpose.
Kym founded his wine creativity on sound science and the invaluable experience at Penfolds and for 30 years developing and expanding his high-profile Coonawarra venture. The Last Emperor reflects these experiences. It is an elegant tannin-structured wine with ripe and spicy flavours that epitomises the Coonawarra character and the rich, full-bodied Barossa Shiraz style.
The genesis of his experience has led him to Kym Tolley Wine Co, from a large family firm to a medium sized family company, to a micro wine company producing a carefully-crafted, premium, must-have wine.
"The only thing worse than being blind, is having sight but no vision."
The Winemaker
Kym Tolley's family has a long history in the wine industry. As the last Penfold family winemaker, Kym embraced his now fifty year journey to currently producing a unique and premium wine that encompasses all that came before him - the high ideals of quality, innovation, enthusiasm and imagination.
As an Australian winemaker, Kym sees the benefit of the country's diverse regions, and the ability to take the best from each to produce a rare commodity, a great wine not entirely dependent on its specific region.
The winemaking skill that is favourably associated with Australia is the ability to successfully blend regional and varietal wines.