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Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
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.
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.
Our single-variety Merlot takes its name from a stream that runs near the estate. Redigaffi is a benchmark wine that has achieved cult status around the world. The 2000 vintage was the first wine from Italy to be awarded 100/100 by Robert Parker. Redigaffi features regularly in the catalogues of the world’s leading auctioneers, such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s, and is one of the few Italian wines included in the Liv-ex index.
First vintage: 1994
Varieties: Merlot 100%
Planting density: 8,500 vines per hectare
Training system: Cordon spur
Soil: Markedly clayey with a fairly significant pebble fraction. The higher plots are more pebbly, those lower down have more silt. Mid slope, where Merlot is grown, there is a higher fraction of clay.
Vineyard management: Organic
Average production: 10,000 bottles Harvesting method: Manually in 15-kg cases
Maturation: For 18-20 months in new French oak barriques; after going into bottle in the summer, the wine is left to age for several months before release to market
Serving temperature: 15-18 °C
Formats: 75-cl bottle in three or six-unit wooden case; 1.5-l magnum in individual wooden case; 3-l double magnum in individual wooden case; 6-l bottle in individual wooden case; 9-l bottle in individual wooden case; 18-l bottle in individual wooden case
Vuosikerta 1996
Italy Vintage Report by Tb: 1996 was an excellent continuation of the preceding year. Temperatures exceeding 30°C at the beginning of June accelerated and balanced the start of the blooming period. The summer growing season enjoyed ideal conditions, in which the grapes were allowed to ripen slowly and evenly. The autumn rains did not present any mould problems due to the cool temperatures. Nebbiolo grapes were thick-skinned, very concentrated and ripe. The 1996 Barolos and Barbarescos are abundantly fruity, supple and robust wines, whose quality is on a par with the 1990 vintage. In Tuscany Chianti and Montalcino enjoyed extraordinary success. Montepulciano did not do quite as well, but producers in Tuscany considered 1996 to be nearly every bit as good as it was in 1995. Starting with this vintage Angelo Gaja classified his legendary single-vineyard Barbarescos and Barolos as IGTs. Gaja said that the reason for doing this was his desire to differentiate his previous modern single-vintage wines from his family’s pride, the traditional Barbaresco, whose importance he wanted to emphasise as his only DOCG wine. The venerable Chianti producer, Castello di Ama decided that from 1996 on it would focus on the production of Chianti Classico, placing less emphasis on its single-vineyard wines, the Bellavista and La Casuccia.
The wines are still maturing very nicely, even if the Chiantis should, in my opinion, be enjoyed soon due to their sheer deliciousness.