Tua Rita Redigaffi: Every vintage rated
Susan Hulme MW rates all 26 vintages of Redigaffi, the 100% Merlot SuperTuscan from Tua Rita.
Tua Rita began in 1984, when Rita Tua and her husband Virgilio Bisti bought four hectares of land in Suvereto, in the Tuscan province of Livorno.
Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Tua Rita Redigaffi: 1994 to 2019
It was a retirement project and they simply wanted to make some wine as a hobby to drink at home. In 1988, they bought two more hectares and planted Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon on the pebbly/clay soil.
According to Stefano Frascolla, the couple’s son-in-law who now runs the estate, they chose Merlot simply because they liked to drink it. This was the start of what was to become Redigaffi, the 100% Merlot which was soon to become one of Italy’s iconic wines.
In 1990, Frascolla met Luca d’Attoma, now one of Italy’s leading consultant enologists but then just starting out on his career. D’Attoma was new to wine consulting but, as Frascolla admits, ‘“we were new to wine’. So began a great partnership.
‘The transition between “home” wine and wine for sale took place in 1992. We bottled a part of the wine…and the journalists and the market really liked it,’ Frascolla explains.
The first commercial bottling of Redigaffi (just 600 bottles from two barriques) was in 1994. In stark contrast, current production of Redigaffi can range from 13,000 to 15,000 bottles.
Redigaffi achieved critical success when Robert Parker awarded the 2000 vintage a perfect score of 100 points.
Perhaps what makes Redigaffi special is its terroir. The vineyards are in the Alta Maremma, in an area known as the Colline Metallifere, or Metalliferous Hills. These hills are rich in minerals and the soils tend to impart notes of iron and a salty, savouriness to the wine.
Redigaffi is fermented in 50-hectolitre oak vessels at temperatures between 16°C to 23°C for about a week. During fermentation, the combination and frequency of délestage and pumping-over depends on the vintage. Maceration lasts from 20 to 25 days. The wine is then softly pressed and matured in new French oak barrels for between 15 and 20 months. Importantly, the wine is clarified by gravity without any additions.
A celebratory tasting of every Redigaffi vintage made was held in July 2022. I was surprised and impressed by the freshness and vitality of the first vintage, 1994, nearly 30 years on. The 1997 was also something special, showing the depth and range of aromas and flavours that a mature wine can – but does not always – achieve. The 2004 and 2007 also showed beautifully.
The five most recent vintages showed a leap forward in quality but my favourite of all was the 2016, displaying perfect harmony and balance with fine tannins that are seamlessly integrated into the wine. It flows across the palate with ease and charm and has this special quality of precision and purity about it. The last wine of the tasting, the 2019 vintage, has that same beautiful harmony and precision.
Of all the vintages of Redigaffi, I would pick the 2016 for my cellar right now. It already has some maturity but it still looks so young. It’s a wine you can enjoy now but can continue drinking for the next 15-20 years.
Tua Rita Redigaffi: 1994 to 2019
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Vino da Tavola, Tuscany, Italy, 1994
Tua Rita describe the 1994 Redigaffi, their first vintage, as elegant and gentle. 1994 was a cool, rainy year with contrasting temperatures but the Merlot...
1994
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Vino da Tavola, Tuscany, Italy, 1995
The 1995 Redigaffi has a much more youthful colour than the 1994, although there is only one year difference. Contrary to my expectations of some...
1995
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Vino da Tavola, Tuscany, Italy, 1996
A very wet spring followed by a hot summer has produced this light but elegant Redigaffi 1996. It has a lighter, more closed nose with...
1996
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In 1997 there was a spring frost which made a 'natural selection' in the vineyard, reducing yields. '1997 was probably one of the best vintages...
1997
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 1998
After a wet spring, 1998 was very hot from June until October. Stefano Frascolla admits, '1998 was Tua Rita's first very hot vintage and [the...
1998
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 1999
For Tua Rita, 1999 was an 'explosive vintage with hot characteristics' and the harvesting of the Merlot began on 21 August. The 1999 Redigaffi looks...
1999
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2000
The 2000 Redigaffi achieved notoriety when it was first released and Robert Parker gave it a perfect score of 100 points. It is still impressively...
2000
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2001
The 2001 vintage had 'two faces' and was a year of extremes: heavy rains in spring and high summer temperatures - but this gave a...
2001
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2002
The 2002 vintage had a very cold, rainy, spring, and harvest was interrupted by rain showers. At Tua Rita they had to perform strict bunch...
2002
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2003
2003 was a notoriously hot vintage - the opposite of 2002 - but at Tua Rita they made a 'very careful selection of the grapes...
2003
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2004
The 2004 vintage had a very well balanced weather pattern and, according to Tua Rita, this created 'a wine characterised by sweet fruit and smooth...
2004
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A sunny September in 2005 closed a vintage that had been interspersed with rain showers and mild temperatures. 'The result is a wine that’s very...
2005
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2006
For Tua Rita, 2006 was generally a sunny growing season with a few showers during the summer that refreshed the vines and led to a...
2006
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The 2007 vintage was sunny but not excessively hot, with a few brief periods of rain in July and August. Overall it was an 'easy'...
2007
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2008
The 2008 Redigaffi feels much less ripe; the flavours are slightly green, with wild bramble, blackberry and cool, dark berry fruits. 2008 was in fact...
2008
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The winemaker’s notes on the 2009 vintage recall 'an extremely hot summer which had to be managed using the experience we had acquired over the...
2009
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2010
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2010
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The 2011 vintage was known for being an especially hot vintage and in fact harvesting started 15 days early, in the third week of August,...
2011
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Ten years on the Redigaffi shows it's vibrancy with lifted aromas of savoury spice, violet and fennel. The palate is still bright yet rich with...
2012
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2013
2013 had a very wet spring followed by a very sunny summer, although rain showers in July and August delayed ripening enough that harvest commenced...
2013
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2014
2014 was one of the coolest and rainiest vintages ever on the Tuscan coast. According to Tua Rita they were saved by the winds blowing...
2014
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2015
The winemaking team describe this as 'an explosive year' - a hot summer was preceded by a cool spring which yielded healthy, crunchy grapes. The...
2015
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2016
The 2016 Redigaffi is a wine of exquisite harmony and balance. It is still a wine I love. For Frascolla, '2016 was very, very good...
2016
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2017
2017 had a hot, very dry growing season and the winery had to make a strict selection in the vineyard and take extreme care in...
2017
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2018
This Redigaffi reflects beautifully the 2018 vintage with its cool spring, mild summer and slower, well-balanced, late ripening season. It's a lithe and lively wine,...
2018
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Tua Rita, Redigaffi, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy, 2019
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2019
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