Tua Rita Per Sempre Syrah Toscana IGT 2016

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Unlike the Keir syrah, which is aged in concrete amphorae, the Per Sempre spends 20-22 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. It has spicy and mineral notes typical of syrah, it is refined, elegant yet powerful and incredibly balanced.

About Tua Rita

When Rita Tua and her late husband bought a property in southern Tuscany in 1984, they could have never anticipated that they would end up heading the second generation of Super Tuscans.

Initially they had modest intentions. They planted cabernet and merlot across their original 37.5 acres with the aim of working the land in a natural way, and perhaps enjoying some of the fruits of their labour themselves. Suffice to say, they never expected to become a huge name in the fine wine business.

Following its inaugural vintage in 1992, the estate quickly began receiving praise and accolades for its rich, full-bodied reds. Within just five years its 100% merlot has achieved cult-like status, with critic Robert Parker awarding the 2000 Redigaffi a 100-point score, making it the first wine in all of Italy to obtain those highly coveted Parker points.

Today the estate covers 55 acres, and includes international varieties such as syrah and petit verdot as well as local grapes like sangiovese and ansonica.

Despite the estates meteoric rise to renown, the estate’s values remain unchanged: the focus is on meticulous vineyard management, traditional winemaking and family owned and operated.

Today Stefano Frascolla and his wife Simena, Rita’s daughter, are now at the helm of the estate.

In the Vineyard

Tua Rita’s uncompromising commitment to quality begins with vineyard management. Their training method is either single or double cordon spur and planting density vary from 5,000 to 9,000 vines per hectare.

Located in the area of the Upper Maremma known as the Colline Metallifere – the Metalliferous Hills – the soils of Tua Rita are largely composed of clay, sand and a rich set of mineral microelements, which impart unique iron nuances and hints of saltiness to the wines.

In the Winery

During the harvest, grapes are hand picked and meticulously selected on special sorting tables. After soft crushing, must from the grapes is transferred to tapered wooden vats for fermentation. Depending on the vintage, maceration lasts twenty-five to thirty days, with carefully regulated pumpovers and/or punching down.

After fermentation, the wine is transferred by gravity flow into the small oak containers located underneath the winemaking area. It is here that the wine, having completed malolactic fermentation, will mature in oak for at least eighteen months.

The 2016 Vintage at Tua Rita

Proprietor Stefano Frascolla and winemaker Luca D’Attoma turned out a set of brilliant 2016s at Tua Rita. In recent years, the style of the wines has moved slightly towards an approach that seeks a bit more nuance than in the past, but without abandoning the intensity that comes so easily in Suvereto. The flagships Redigaffi and Syrah get most of the attention, but I find so much to like in the budget friendly Rosso dei Notri and the Giusto di Notri, a wine that offers serious quality for the price.

Antonio Galloni, Vinous

Where in the World is Tua Rita?

Tua Rita is located in Suvereto, a small town in  Maremma – a long, loosely defined strip of tuscan coastline south of Livorno extending southward through the province of Grosseto (navy blue on the map below). In September 2011, after 16 years as an IGT title, it was officially promoted to DOC status. Home 3 DOCG appellations, as well as the most famous Super Tuscan estates (Ornellaia, Sassicaia etc.), the region is well known for a wide array of wine styles.