Tua Rita is one of the most remarkable success stories in modern Italian wine: a small estate near Suvereto in the Maremma Toscana, founded in 1984 by Rita Tua and Virgilio Bisti as a farming project rather than a wine estate, which by the late 1990s had become one of Italy’s most celebrated producers. The moment that transformed the estate’s international reputation was Robert Parker’s award of 100 points to the 2000 Redigaffi Merlot, his second-ever perfect score for an Italian wine. Since then, Tua Rita has maintained a level of quality across its range that few other Italian estates can match, with the Giusto di Notri Cabernet-based blend functioning as the estate’s most consistently outstanding red wine across a wide range of vintages.

Giusto di Notri is a blend of approximately 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Merlot, sourced from the estate’s best plots on the gentle slopes above Suvereto and aged for 18 months in French barriques, with approximately half new oak. The wine takes its name from Giusto, the patron saint of Suvereto, and from Notri, the locality where the estate is situated. The 2020 vintage in Maremma was warm and generously ripe, and the Giusto di Notri shows the concentration and depth that this hot coastal vintage delivered, balanced by the estate’s meticulous vineyard and cellar management. James Suckling described the 2020 as having “full body and a powerful, structured mid-palate” with “a long, long finish.”

James Suckling awarded the 2020 Giusto di Notri 97 points, Wine Advocate 96, Wine Enthusiast 96, Vinous 94 and Wine Spectator 93 — a remarkable convergence of critical opinion that confirms this as one of the finest Giusto di Notri releases in recent memory. The magnum format amplifies what is already a wine of outstanding age-worthiness, providing the conditions for the Cabernet’s tannin structure and depth of fruit to develop over a much longer period than the standard bottle. Tua Rita magnums are considerably rarer than 750ml releases and are sought by serious collectors of Maremma wines.

Deep purple with a concentrated and complex nose of sandalwood, lavender, currant, blackberry, fresh herbs, cedar and incense. Full-bodied on the palate with very fine, dense tannins, excellent concentration and a long, structured, persistent finish of formidable depth. This needs time; best from 2028 through 2045.

Lots of incense to the aromas with sandalwood and lavender. Currants, blackberries and fresh herbs. Full-bodied and very rich, with a powerful, structured mid-palate and a long, long finish. A wine for the future. Needs four to five years to soften. Best after 2026. — James Suckling

A ripe, bold and generous wine. The 2020 shows the first signs of aromatic development. Dried flowers, cedar, pipe tobacco and dried herbs open nicely in the aromatics. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Merlot, the DNA of the wine has changed to favor Cabernet Franc. — Wine Advocate