Italy · Bolgheri & Etruscan Coast

Tua Rita

Coastal Tuscan estate in Suvereto.

The producer

Rita and Virgilio bought a property in Suvereto in 1984 because they wanted somewhere quiet to live. The land came with vines. They planted more, without a négociant relationship, without critics on speed dial, without any ambition beyond the modest satisfaction of growing things on clay soil a short drive from the Tyrrhenian coast. Within a decade their first wines, Redigaffi and Giusto di Notri, were drawing international attention.

The estate sits in the Val di Cornia zone of coastal Tuscany, approximately 100 metres above sea level in the medieval hill town of Suvereto. Clay soils and maritime proximity from the Tyrrhenian Sea give the site its character: full phenolic ripeness for Merlot and Cabernet without heat stress, colour that goes nearly to the rim of the glass, and enough natural acidity to keep the wines in shape. Redigaffi is 100% Merlot, made in approximately 9,000 bottles a year. Giusto di Notri is a Cabernet-based blend. Perlato del Bosco Bianco is 100% Vermentino in stainless steel from clay-and-pebble plots. The estate produces roughly 220,000 bottles annually across the range and is led today by Stefano Frascolla.

Known for

Super Tuscan Merlot from coastal Suvereto clay.

Notable facts

From the atlas

Tua Rita

At A Glance

The Producer

Rita and Virgilio bought a property in Suvereto in 1984 because they wanted somewhere quiet to live. The land came with vines. They planted more, without a plan, without a négociant relationship, without any ambition beyond the modest satisfaction of growing things. That is the starting point for one of the most discussed Super Tuscan estates in the world.

Suvereto is a medieval hill town in the Val di Cornia, on the Tuscan coast roughly 100 metres above sea level. The estate sits in a zone where clay soils and proximity to the Tyrrhenian Sea push Cabernet and Merlot toward generous, even ripening. Those two facts, terrain and maritime air, shaped the red wines from the beginning. Redigaffi, the flagship, is a 100% Merlot. Giusto di Notri is a Cabernet-based blend. The estate also makes Perlato del Bosco in both white and red versions. Total annual output runs to approximately 220,000 bottles. The estate is led today by Stefano Frascolla.

Place

The Val di Cornia sits between the hills above Suvereto and the Tyrrhenian coast, far enough inland to avoid salt air but close enough to feel the moderating effect of the sea. Elevation at approximately 100 metres holds summer temperatures down and slows ripening enough to preserve acidity in the fruit. The maritime influence is not incidental: Suvereto's terroir is cited specifically for how clay soils and coastal positioning suit Cabernet and Merlot, delivering full colour and concentrated fruit without heat stress. On the label, this translates to wines that sit outside Chianti, outside Montalcino, and outside the traditional Tuscan hierarchy. The Val di Cornia DOC provides the legal address, but the wines are classified as Super Tuscans, made from international varieties in a zone that came to serious critical attention only in the 1990s.

Soil And Site

The confirmed soil picture is most detailed for the Perlato del Bosco vineyards. Those parcels are markedly clayey with a significant pebble fraction. The higher plots carry more stone and drain more freely. The lower plots hold more silt and retain moisture longer. The interplay between the two means the Vermentino grown across these sites behaves differently plot to plot, even though everything is vinified together in stainless steel. The clay fraction across the estate is what makes Suvereto well suited to Cabernet and Merlot: clay retains water into the growing season and allows the thick-skinned varieties to reach full phenolic maturity without irrigation dependence.

Story

Rita and Virgilio were not planning a wine career. In 1984 they purchased the Suvereto property as a retreat, somewhere to grow a kitchen garden and tend a few vines. The place had agricultural potential, but the impulse was personal rather than commercial.

Within a decade, that changed. By the early-to-mid 1990s, their first releases, Redigaffi and Giusto di Notri, had begun attracting critical attention in Italy and internationally. The scale was small. The ambition, by then, was not. The estate expanded its vineyard holdings from a few hectares toward more than twenty, and the production philosophy was codified around a single principle: everything begins in the vineyard.

Vineyards And Cellar

The estate's production philosophy, committed to uncompromising quality, begins with vineyard management. Specific farming certification, whether organic, biodynamic, or conventional, is not confirmed in available sourced material.

In the cellar, the different wines follow different paths. Perlato del Bosco Bianco, the Vermentino, is vinified entirely in stainless steel, preserving the grape's natural aromatics without oak influence. The red wines, Redigaffi in particular, are handled to allow Merlot's concentration and colour depth to come through cleanly. The 9,000-bottle annual production of Redigaffi reflects both the physical limits of the best parcels and the estate's decision to keep the grand vin at a scale where selection remains meaningful.

Wines

The range has four named wines across two tiers.

Perlato del Bosco Bianco is 100% Vermentino, first released in 1992. It is vinified in stainless steel from the estate's clay-and-pebble plots. Clean, unoaked, with the mineral lift and citrus freshness that Vermentino carries on coastal Tuscan soils. An accessible white wine with a coastal character.

Perlato del Bosco Rosso is the red counterpart, from the same tier of the range. Composition is not confirmed in sourced material.

Giusto di Notri is a Cabernet-based blend and one of the original two wines that brought the estate critical recognition in the early 1990s. It holds the second position in the hierarchy, below Redigaffi. Specific tasting details are not confirmed in the sourced record.

Redigaffi is 100% Merlot, produced in approximately 9,000 bottles per year. Deep ruby in colour. The nose moves through chocolate-covered cherries and plum jam, dense and aromatic in the way that concentrated Merlot on warm clay delivers.

In The Glass

Redigaffi opens with an aromatic intensity that reflects both the grape and the site. Merlot on warm clay with maritime air produces colour that goes nearly to the edge of the glass, deep ruby with violet depth. The nose gives chocolate-covered cherries and plum jam: ripe, dense, and forward without being blowsy. Clay-grown Merlot at this ripeness level tends to carry weight in the mouth, with a plush texture and fruit that coats the palate rather than retreating into the mid-palate. Acidity holds the wine in shape. The combination of full colour, concentrated dark fruit, and enough acid to prevent the wine from going flat is what made the 2000 vintage legible to a Parker palate accustomed to Pomerol and Pétrus.

Perlato del Bosco Bianco sits at the other register entirely. Vermentino in stainless steel, no oak, no malolactic softening. The citrus-and-herb profile of the grape comes through cleanly, with the mineral quality that the clay-and-pebble plots contribute. It finishes with a slight saline edge, a coastal marker that the Perlato reds, by contrast, carry in a different direction.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Redigaffi. It is 100% Merlot, made in 9,000 bottles a year from the estate's best parcels. Tasting it places you precisely at the estate's centre: Suvereto clay, maritime Tuscany, Merlot pushed to full phenolic maturity and vinified for maximum colour and aromatic depth. The glass gives deep ruby fruit, chocolate and plum on the nose, and a weighted, texturally generous palate that finishes longer than most coastal Italian reds. There is a direct line between the soil type, the grape choice, the estate's founding moment, and what is in the glass. No other bottle in the range draws those connections as completely.

Anecdote

Final Word

Tua Rita is the coastal Tuscan estate that arrived without warning. Rita and Virgilio bought a quiet property in Suvereto and grew wine on clay soils a short drive from the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Val di Cornia is not Chianti or Barolo. It is somewhere newer, with fewer inherited hierarchies and more room to define itself on the strength of what comes out of the bottle.

Sources

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