Tua Rita remains proudly family owned with Stefano Frascolla, his wife, Simena, daughter of the original owners, Virgilio and Rita Tua, and son Giovanni, looking to guide the property and its prestigious wine names – Redigaffi, Per Sempre and Keir amongst others – on the next stage of its journey.
For someone who comes from Tuscany’s so called ‘Wild West’ wine region of Alta Maremma, nestled up close to Italy’s western coast, Stefano Frascolla is softly spoken, immaculately dressed, and quite happy for his wines do the talking for him. Which considering they are now amongst the most sought after Super Tuscan reds in the market is not surprising.
He also clearly has a steely confidence about the wines Tua Rita is now producing from an estate in the small medieval town of Suvereto in the Tuscan province of Livorno. It has grown from just a couple of vineyards in 1984 to the 71 hectares of land, 50 of which are under vine, that it now owns across this illustrious part of southern and western Tuscany. Producing a healthy 350,000 bottles a year.
Softy spoken but the very engaging Stefano Frascolla – owner of the Tua Rita estate
Frascolla is quick to highlight the influence of the sea and its proximity to the coast in its wines. It is a topic he returns to time and again as he was in London this month to shine the light on some of the new releases that its UK partner, Armit Wines, is offering the trade through a coveted en primeur campaign.
Morning coastal winds that help bring relief to its all important long standing plots of Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon and, more recently, Syrah, which play a huge role in the freshness, acidity and vibrance that comes through in the wines, year after year.
“We also get better ageing with international varieties,” stresses Frascolla.
Worldwide reputation
What started out as simply a hobby for the original owners quickly turned into a serious winemaking business, such was the response to the first vintage from the estate in 1992, released in 1996. Its profile and reputation soon stretched worldwide on the back of Robert Parker describing the 1999 release of its Redigaffi wine “as close to perfection as a wine can get” before going a step further and awarding it 100 points for the 2000 vintage – his first 100 point wine in Italy.
As one of the early Super Tuscans, Tua Rita has had to operate, and grow, very much under the glare of the fine wine world. But it has, crucially, not let success go to its heads and remains a humble estate, typified in how Frascolla quietly takes us through the wines in a far more under stated way than many producers, with much less to shout about, do.
The Frascolla family with Stefano and his mother, Rita, wife, Simena, and son Giovanni
But behind him lies a carefully organised, meticulous, and thorough wine business focused on making still relatively small quantities of premium fine wine. An approach that is reflected in the high 90 point scores it receives the world’s most revered and powerful wine critics.
He says is happy to see his wines so well received in the UK – one of over 70 markets it is in around the world – as it is such an “interesting market for fine wine”. “I like to work here. It is also easy to explain what we do, compared to somewhere like China.”
Keep on trialling
It is also willing to keep on testing, trialling and seeing what else it can do to improve the quality of its wines and introduce new ideas to the region, but also for wine buyers and customers to enjoy.
“Coastal Tuscany is still a region for experimenting. After all we have only really been making wine here for 40 years. So we can continue to experiment. Look at new rootstocks, different clones and varieties. We need more time to experiment with our terroir,” says Frascolla.
It’s why it makes it so many wines, he adds. “We still don’t know our potential. This is an area that can give us so much and we want to keep exploring and trialling. If we only produced two to three wines then the overall quality of Tua Rita would not be as high as it is now as we would still not be discovering and exploring.”
Armit’s Alexander Aldersley-Hey on Tua Rita
Tua Rita was the first Italian winery that Robert Parker awarded 100 points to
Armit Wines has forged a close relationship with Tua Rita during its long association importing and selling its wines into the premium UK wine market. Here we talk to brand manager, Alexander Aldersley-Hey, about what it is about Tua Rita that Armit is so keen to support.
How have you seen the wines from Tua Rita develop over the years in terms of style and quality?
In recent years there’s been a focus on drinkability, alongside tremendous cellaring potential. Stefano has spent a lot of time experimenting with oak sizes, toasts, porosity etc to make the wine more accessible on release and able to enjoy earlier for those looking for a more fruit-focused, decadent experience.
You are just releasing the wines en primeur into the market – can you explain what you are offering and running that campaign?
Tua Rita’s wines are offered en primeur primarily to give customers the chance to secure an allocation before the stock arrives, as we always sell out. The wines will be in the UK in November andDecember but buyers can get in touch now to confirm their orders of the all of these wines.
Any stand out wines from the current vintage and why?
Tua Rita benefits from being so close to the sea and the cooling influence of the winds and climate
I absolutely love the Syrah Per Sempre this year, there’s a wonderful balance of elegance and depth, and I think the Perlato del Bosco gets more impressive every year with a beautiful texture and richness that is quite unique for Sangiovese. But the star of the range is Giusto di Notri for me – as it is pretty much every year. The class, varietal purity, and intensity of this wine far exceeds the price point and the 2021 shows a real vibrancy that is very compelling.
Who are your key customers for Tua Rita?
Fine dining in London will always be part of the customer base for Tua Rita, particularly those who have the capacity to buy on release and then store with us or on site for a few years. Similar, merchants and retailers of all sizes always get through a lot: Tua Rita has a lot of loyal collectors and will buy every year.
How do you see premium Coastal Tuscan wines performing compared to the rest of Tuscany and its premium fine wines?
Tuscany is going up and up all over in terms of quality, but the market is generally much more accepting of higher prices on the coast than other areas – the exception being Brunello di Montalcino. The legacy of the Super Tuscan revolution still looms large in in the Italian wine scene and there’s an inherent understanding of the value these wines can command in international markets.
What would you like to see from Tua Rita in the future?
I’d love to see more experimentation with amphorae – their Keir wines are absolutely delicious, with a lot of somms picking up on the Ansonica in particular, and it would be fascinating to see how this vessel impacts other varieties.
Tua Rita Wines Tasted
The Buyer had the chance to taste through a selection of the range of Tua Rita wines with Stefano Frascolla in London last month
Keir Ansonica 2022. IGT Toscana Ansonica. £90 per 3x75cl.
Whilst clearly the majority of the focus at Tua Rita is on its red wines, it is also proudly producing a white wine from a traditional Tuscan variety, Ansonica, under its Keir label, that it proving to be a particularly versatile and strong grape variety in face of climate change, says Frascolla.
This is an unusual, somewhat surprisingly complex, yet soft and gentle white wine, that spends two months in skin contact in amphora before being moved into concrete.
Frascolla says its Keir Ansonica, of which it only produces 2,000 bottles from a 0.8 hectare plot, is a good example of Tua Rita wanting to remain “faithful to tradition, but to also test itself by creating something different and exploring what impact amphora can have on its wines. He says he is also excited by its ageing potential. It produced its first commercial Ansonica in 2018.
Alex Aldersley-Hey, brand manager for Tua Rita, says the wine is particularly popular with some restaurants and it certainly offers something different and unusual for their lists. “Sommeliers love it,” he stresses.
Keir Syrah 2021. Toscana Syrah. IGT. £190 per 3x75cl.
Frascolla says this can be a challenging wine to make as it is vital you pick at the right time and get that balance between too much green tannin and being over ripe. “You also have to be careful for extraction with what is a small production wine. Concentration can be risky to get right too and you have to pay a lot of attention in the final part of the maceration,” he says. But get it right and you can look forward to “elegant tannins” and a carefully controlled powerful wine. Again the terracotta amphora – six months on skins – plays a key role in softening and bringing balance to the wine, he adds.
The Tua Rita wines tasted in London in September
Perlato de Bosco Rosso 2021. Toscana Sangiovese. IGT. £115 per 6x 75cl.
This 100% Sangiovese also needs to be handled with care as Sangiovese can be hard grape to grow close to the coast, says Frascolla. This wine comes from a vineyard planted in 2002 from a clonal selection of Sangiovese suitable for Maremma’s unique climate and produces 40,000 bottles a year.
“This is a delicious wine,” says Aldersley-Hey, “and it is good to see a resurgence in coastal Sangiovese. This wine is really improving year after year.”
“This might not be as complex as a Brunello, but
Maturation is handled with 50% of the wine in 20/ hl wooden vats, and 50% in 40/hl tapered oak vats after a conscious decision to stop using barriques.
Guisto di Notre 2021. Toscana Rosso. IGT. £295 6x75cl.
For all of Tua Rita’s Super Tuscan status this is the wine that Stefano Frascolla says signifies what the estate is all about as it goes right back to its start – with the first vintage being made in 1992.
“It’s the main wine of the estate,” he says. “It’s my wine. It’s the father of all our other wines.”
It also, he adds, typifies what the property hopes to offer by “maintaining freshness, balanced and drinkability in the wine” through the work it does both in the vineyard also the cellar. “We are working the wine a lot of more gently in the cellar to get that harmony and balance.”
Tua Rita has worked hard to make wines that can both age but also ready to drink from release
A wine made up of a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon that spends 18 months in new and once-used French oak barriques and produces 40,000 bottles a year.
Aldersdley-Hey believes this is a wine that has changed a lot over the last five years. Back then it would need a lot more time to open up, but the vintages being produced can be drunk straight away – although it is best with some ageing. He says it has made changes over the last five to improve its drinkability on release and whilst it is still best aged over a few years it is now drinking well.
Syrah Per Sempre 2021. Toscana Syrah. IGT. £345 3x75cl.
This 100% Syrah was first made in 2001 and spends up to 17 months in French oak barriques and comes from its vineyards in Upper Maremma and Colline Metallifere zone. A beautifully balanced that has lots rich fruit, lovely acidity and excellent structure. Complex but also a great food wine.It provides an interesting contrast to the lighter Kier Syrah style matured in amphora.
Redigaffi 2021. Toscana Melot. IGT. £465 3x75cl.
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon this is a wine with a 100 point reputation that is only made in certain vintages. It spends 18 months in new and once used French oak barriques. A deeply coloured and complex wine, that carries a lovely balance between the richness of its fruits, but still holds its freshness, structure and texture with good acidity.
- You can find out more about Tua Rita and its wines here.
- If you want to enquire about any of the wines in the en primeur campaign from Armit Wines then contact Alexander Aldersley-Hey on aa-hey@armitwines.co.uk.
- Armit Wines is a commercial partner to The Buyer. Find out more about the services it offers the premium UK wine market here.
