Tua Rita

Suvereto, south of Bolgheri – where the Tuscan Maremma lies between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the metalliferous hills of the Colline Metallifere, the Frascolla family continues the legacy of Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti. They began in 1984 with a modest ten hectares, and today Tua Rita is one of the most respected addresses in the region. The Palazzetto epitomises the philosophy of the house, even in the entry-level segment: top quality without pretence. Sangiovese forms the backbone of this cuvée, with Cabernet Sauvignon providing structure and small proportions of Merlot and Syrah. The grapes come from various plots on the estate and are vinified according to organic principles. Short maceration, maturation in stainless steel tanks – deliberately without wood in order to preserve the clear fruit and vibrancy of the grape varieties.

In 1984, Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti bought a dilapidated farmstead near Suvereto. No wine background, no generations of tradition – just a conviction: that the Colline Metallifere terroir can do more than it seemed at the time. The metal-rich, ferruginous clays of these hills between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Apuan Alps bear a fingerprint that no other growing region in Tuscany can replicate: mineral, salty, with a depth reminiscent of both earth and sea. Tierre is Tua Rita's 100 per cent Merlot expression of this terroir – more accessible than the legendary Redigaffi, but with the same soils, the same hands, the same attitude.

The name is a landscape. "Pearl of the forest" – those ancient strips of scrubland between the vineyards and the Tyrrhenian Sea, from whose herbs, pines and wild flowers the wind carries a daily bath of flavour to the vines. Tua Rita has been vinifying Vermentino since 1992 – the estate's very first vintage. Not an experiment, not a trend, but a strong commitment. 100% Vermentino from the mineral-rich soils of the Colline Metallifere. The vines grow without pruning – they are allowed to extend their shoots as a natural umbrella over the grapes, protecting the clusters from heat stress and preserving the flavour. Fermentation and ageing in steel: no wood to come between the grape variety and the terroir. "The trick is maintaining the acidity," says Stefano Frascolla.

Ten days before the main harvest for Redigaffi and Giusto di Notri, the pre-harvest begins at Tua Rita – a selection in the younger vineyards, whose grapes should not achieve the extreme concentration of the great crus, but rather freshness and accessibility. This conscious decision gives rise to the Rosso dei Notri, the house's calling card since 2000. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon form the foundation in equal parts, while Syrah and Cabernet Franc add spice and structure. The vineyards are located on the metalliferous hills near Suvereto, where loamy soils with a high proportion of skeleton give the wines the mineral precision that characterises Tua Rita. Vinification in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature, ageing in cement – no wood flavour should mask the clear fruit.

Pure Sangiovese from western Tuscany is not comparable with the interpretations from Montalcino or Chianti Classico due to its cultivation near the coast, but this somewhat different facet is in no way inferior to the aforementioned. Saturated, light ruby red colour. Intense and complex bouquet of cherries, lilac and broom, densely woven on the palate with black cherries, spices and grilled herbs, the whole framed by a terrificfreshness and lightness. A supple and elegant wine whose well-balanced acid wire not only provides the necessary structure, but also the framework for a wonderful further ageing phase. SUPERIORE.DE

While Virgilio Bisti cultivates the reds – merlot, Cabernet, Syrah –Rita Tua has focussed on the whites. Lodano Bianco is her wine, her conviction: that in this climate and on these mineral-rich soils of the Colline Metallifere, a white wine with its own character can be created – from an assemblage that nobody would have expected in the Maremma. Traminer, Riesling and Chardonnay. Three grape varieties, three origin stories, one terroir. The vineyards near Suvereto lie on clay and mineral-rich soils, twelve kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Mistral wind from the Piombino Canal keeps the temperatures in balance, preserves the flavour and gives the white wine a freshness that is not a given at this latitude. Gentle pressing, fermentation in wooden tanks, then maturation in barriques.

Lodano Rosso is a blend of Petit Verdot and Merlot that is seamlessly integrated with its dark fruits, blackberries and plums, nicely rounded off by smoke and tobacco from French oak and a smaller proportion of American oak. The Merlot comes from the winery's famous old vines, and the contemporary concentration and richness of the Lodano can be found in this wine as well as in the winery's entire portfolio. The dark fruits and spices speak in a deep baritone that calls for a juicy grilled steak, it also offers excellent value! SUPERIORE.DE

Keir Ansonica is the white answer to Keir Syrah, which is also aged in amphorae. A wine produced in small quantities of 2,000 bottles, which is neither clarified nor filtered and is an expression of both innovation and tradition.

Lodano Rosso is a blend of Petit Verdot and Merlot that is seamlessly integrated with its dark fruits, blackberries and plums, which are nicely rounded off by smoke and tobacco from French oak and a smaller proportion of American oak. The Merlot comes from the winery's famous old vines, and the contemporary concentration and richness of the Lodano can be found in this wine as well as in the winery's entire portfolio. The dark fruits and spices speak in a deep baritone that calls for a juicy grilled steak, it also offers excellent value! SUPERIORE.DE

Petit Verdot is a grape variety that the world distrusts. In Bordeaux, it is used as a seasoning – a few per cent, hardly more. Independent, pure, as the main player: hardly anyone dares to do this. Tua Rita dared to do it for the first time in 2017. 60% Petit Verdot from young vineyards on highly clayey soils in the Colline Metallifere, 40% Merlot from 35-year-old vines. "Esuberante e maturo", as the cantina itself says. A duet of exuberance and maturity. The Petit Verdot comes from vineyards planted in 2011 – young, but in a location that needs no apology: iron-rich clays, mineral depth, sea breeze from the Piombino Canal. The Merlot comes from the old plots that have defined the estate's reputation for decades. Hand-picked, fermentation in wooden tanks, then 18 months in French and American oak barriques – the wood as a dialogue, not a monologue.

When Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti bought a farmstead in the village of Notri, south of the medieval town of Suvereto in the Colline Metallifere, in 1984, they had no wine plan. They wanted nature, peace and quiet, a piece of land. The passion for wine changed that – slowly, inevitably, as it always does. The first vintage of Giusto di Notri was produced in 1992, named after San Giusto, the patron saint of Suvereto, and after the location of the estate itself. Eight years later, her Redigaffi was the first Italian wine ever to receive 100 points from Robert Parker. Tua Rita had redrawn the wine map of the Maremma.

1992 was the year in which Tua Rita launched its first wine on the market – not the legendary Redigaffi, but Giusto di Notri, named after the patron saint of Suvereto and the exact location of the winery. A homage to the village church, to one of the oldest vineyard parcels, to the beginnings. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates with eighty per cent, Cabernet Franc and Merlot complement – a composition that has evolved over the decades, away from Merlot and towards more Franc, for flavour and finesse. The vineyards are located on loamy soils with a high proportion of skeleton, the higher plots are stonier, the deeper ones more silty, the Merlot in the centre on clay. Long maceration over twenty-five to thirty days to gain concentration and depth. Eighteen months in French barriques, half new, half second passage – then months in the bottle before the wine leaves the estate.

Here comes the third vintage of Stefano Frascolla's heart project from the Alta Maremma. Just 2,500 bottles of this 100% Syrah are bottled, aged (on the skins) for half a year in amphorae, then filtered and matured in small French oak barrels.

Just 2,500 bottles of this 100% Syrah are bottled, aged (on the skins) for six months in amphorae, then filtered and matured in small French oak barrels.

Keir Ansonica is the white answer to Keir Syrah, which is also aged in amphorae. A wine produced in small quantities of 2,000 bottles, which is neither clarified nor filtered and is an expression of both innovation and tradition.

When Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti bought a farmstead in the village of Notri, south of the medieval town of Suvereto in the Colline Metallifere, in 1984, they had no wine plan. They wanted nature, peace and quiet, a piece of land. The passion for wine changed that – slowly, inevitably, as it always does. The first vintage of Giusto di Notri was produced in 1992, named after San Giusto, the patron saint of Suvereto, and after the location of the estate itself. Eight years later, her Redigaffi was the first Italian wine ever to receive 100 points from Robert Parker. Tua Rita had redrawn the wine map of the Maremma.

The excellent Cabernet-Merlot blend Giusto di Notri is a concentrated wine with an intense, rich flavour. A perfectly balanced bouquet of blackberry, blackcurrant and fine herbal spice. Compact on the palate with a well-tempered balance between fruit and oak, plus a distinctive tannin, promising and powerful in the final. SUPERIORE.DE

Deep dark, almost impenetrable red colour. A whole range of ripe wild berries on the nose, delicately accompanied by nuances of tobacco, leather, cedar and lavender. The palate is also full of fruit, powerful, yet silky and elegant. Traces of dark chocolate in the endlessly long final. SUPERIORE.DE

Deep dark, almost impenetrable red colour. A whole range of ripe wild berries on the nose, delicately accompanied by nuances of tobacco, leather, cedar and lavender. The palate is also full of fruit, powerful, yet silky and elegant. Traces of dark chocolate on the endlessly long final. SUPERIORE.DE

Rare, exceptional Merlot from the west of Tuscany: deep ruby red with violet reflections. The bouquet is multi-layered with hints of wild berries and blackberries, ripe cherries, but also liquorice and tobacco notes. Very structured and lively on the palate. The silky tannins emphasise the delicate minerality right through to the almost endless finish. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1994, Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti set aside two barrels of Merlot without realising that they were creating a cult wine that would catapult the winery onto the world stage. The name comes from a small stream that flows close to the vineyards, as inconspicuous as the beginnings of the project itself. Then in 2000 came the sensation: Robert Parker awarded one hundred points, the first ever for an Italian red wine. The Redigaffi became a legend, the epitome of Tuscan Merlot mastery, compared to Pétrus and Masseto – and yet independent, characterised by the metal-rich hills of the Maremma, by loam and clay, by its proximity to the sea ... The vines grow in the centre of the vineyard, where the clay content is highest – where Merlot finds its greatest density. Hand-selected in three passes, only fully ripe grapes. Vinification with long maceration, then eighteen to twenty months in new French barriques, followed by months in the bottle before the wine leaves the estate.