Tua Rita
You would expect that the producer of Redigaffi, one
of the world’s most renowned Merlots, crafts that
sought-after bottling in surroundings that signify and
complement the wine’s prestige. You would expect,
to be honest, a certain air of grandeur, a certain imposing
reserve and majesty. Tua Rita, however, has resolutely
kept itself outside that realm. In fact, so modest and
unassuming is the “estate” that it might
strike you as the home of, at the very most, a house
of local importance—an impression that is undoubtedly
heightened by the medieval origins of Suvereto, the
town in which Tua Rita is situated.
Indeed, when Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti purchased
the estate in 1984, they were essentially beginning
a family story—not a fairytale-in-the-making.
But their terroir had other ideas….You see,
Tua and Bisti planted international varietals Merlot
and Cabernet Sauvignon, which were served particularly
well by soils rich in clay and silt. Those initial
plantings, in fact (totaling 7.5 acres), figured in
none other than the revered Sassicaia, a practice
that ended when Tua Rita commenced estate bottling
in 1992. While this certainly constituted a significant
qualitative development, it wasn’t attended
by any international designs. Nevertheless, vintages
from the early and mid-1990s of flagship Giusto di
Notri (a Bordeaux-styled blend) and the aforementioned
Redigaffi enjoyed critical success. Then came a 100-point
rating for the 1997 Redigaffi—a reception that
took both Redigaffi and this quiet Maremma cellar
far beyond their village, precipitating a formal investment
in the winery’s vineyards and operations.
Though Redigaffi has been a cult catch since ’97,
turning in stellar vintage after stellar vintage,
Tua Rita has remained true to its artisanal ideals
and more remarkably, its modest demeanor. That spirit,
in fact, prevails at Tua Rita, most notably in the
persona of owner Rita Tua. Seemingly more a denizen
of the kitchen than of the cellar, Rita Tua exudes
the classic warmth that is the provenance of the Italian
grandmother; the palpable human quality defining the
estate is channeled through her ingratiating vitality.
The estate’s current portfolio provides a comprehensive
stylistic album of the Maremma and bears the signature
of Tua Rita’s famed consulting enologist, Stefano
Chioccioli, who mentored under Franco Bernabei and
Vittorio Fiore, the latter of whom was instrumental
in the development of Chioccioli’s intense renderings:
Giusto, widely regarded as the icon of the second
generation of Super-Tuscans, has been joined by Rosso
dei Notri, technically in the entry-level position,
but never quite drinking there. It is sourced from
proprietor Stefano Frascolla’s (the son-in-law
of Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti) tiny 6.5-acre estate
(which he purchased in 1997). Perlato del Bosco brings
out Sangiovese’s opulence—in initial vintages
as a monovarietal and currently, with a contribution
by Cabernet Sauvignon. The white counterpart to Perlato
is an aromatic, concentrated blend of Chardonnay,
Gewürztraminer, and Riesling; Lodano, the portfolio’s
only other white, is equal parts Riesling and Chardonnay.
Redigaffi continues to turn out performances that
make it one of Italy and the world’s foremost
expressions of Merlot—not to mention one of
the hardest to acquire. While its place as such is
pretty secure, Tua Rita’s monolithic monovarietal
Syrah—which debuted in the 2001 vintage—is
well on its way to establishing its own varietal benchmark.
The climax of this somewhat accidental Super-Tuscan
story seems to be still in the making….
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