1984…….. Rita Tua and her husband Virgilio purchase what is to become the Tua Rita estate in Suvereto Tuscany as a place to spend their retirement.
1992……… The pair bottle their first wines for commercial sale and receive glowing reviews from the wine trade. With only 2 small hectares under vine at the time, they are the true boutique winery.
1994……… First production of Redigaffi
2000……… The cellars are expanded to accommodate production that has now increased to almost 220,000 bottles of wine annually.
Today, Tua Rita is an icon in Suvereto, a small hamlet in Livorno along the Tuscan coast.
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| ~ Tiny Suvereto ~ |
The vineyard that generates the grapes for Redigaffi is comprised of a myriad of soil types given the close proximity to the Mediterranean. Sand, silt, and calcerous deposits are prevalent and the vines are planted to a density of almost 9,000 plants per hectare. Such density causes the vines to struggle and compete for nutrients and the resulting grapes are intensely flavored. Redigaffi takes its name from a stream that runs by the estate.
The 1999 Tua Rita Redigaffi is utterly superb. With a wine of this pedigree, that we saved for a special occasion, the expectations were set very high. Redigaffi cleared the hurdle with room to spare.
The wine was not decanted, but was opened about 90 minutes in advance, a small pour removed to test, and then taken to a restaurant in Manhattan for dinner. There was a chunky sediment at the bottom of the bottle that we were able to work around when the time came.
The wine is a deep, lustrous purple color with hardly any fading at the rim. The aromas from the glass are intense, perfumed and complex. In a seemingly endless parade of characteristics, black plum, flowers, mint, Tuscan herb, new leather, pepper and spice all make appearances.
On the palate, the wine is pure velvet. The tannins are wonderfully integrated and this Merlot caresses from start to finish. Bold flavors of black fruit, spices, minerals, salinity, espresso, powdery cocoa and sweet tobacco are seamless, polished, focused and magnificent. Redigaffi is a masterpiece. 99 points.
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| ~ Redigaffi is 100% Merlot ~ |
E vero!
Great post, John! I have found memories of the 1997 and 2000.
/Joakim
Thanks Joakim. The 2000 was rated 100 by Parker. I bet that's close to $1,000 per bottle now. Crazy stuff. I certainly wouldn't pay current retail for this, which is close to $500 if you believe Wine Searcher. I think maybe I paid $125 for this on release with the idea of saving it for a long time. I haven't tasted too many Redigaffi, so this was a nice learning experience.