2016 Tua Rita Giusto di Notri Toscana IGT 750 ml

An Unassuming Tuscan Heavyweight

It’s easy to miss Tua Rita, off the dusty, unpaved Località Notri—a seven-minute drive from our room at the Casa Guerrieri, tucked within the labyrinthine, stone-lined walls of Suvereto. It doesn’t announce itself with the rural Tuscan grandeur of Castello di Ama or boast the dramatic entrance of Ornellaia, at the end of a winding, tree-lined road. The red-roofed building here sits squat among the vineyards and low hills; everything projects an air of quiet, workmanlike modesty.

Imagine the wine world’s surprise, then, back in 2000 when this backwoods estate won 100 points from Robert Parker for their Redigaffi—the second Italian wine ever to achieve the feat—the critic having declared the previous vintage “as close to perfection as wine can get”!

The 2016 Tua Rita Giusto di Notri represents Central Tuscany at its peak, a Bordeaux blend with voluptuous black fruit and harmonious, dusty tannins for under $80. The winery has been a critical darling since that first perfect score and 2016 proved no exception. Lauding the “wonderful texture of beautiful, ultra-fine tannins” James Suckling awarded 97 points while Antonio Galloni offered unrestrained praise in a 96-point review calling this classic release “fabulous,” “spectacularly rich and explosive,” “arrestingly beautiful” and “a thrill a minute.”

In Napa, a wine of this richly textured intensity would go for $140. Today, the prize of Suvereto is half that, not to mention a fraction of the cost of similarly-scored Super Tuscans like Ornellaia ($145) and Sassicaia ($210).

In 1984, Rita Tua and husband Virgilio Bisti entered into their project with a spirit of modesty in mind which, luckily for us, is still reflected in the price tag. With an ambition that did not extend beyond farming, they bought 37.5 acres of land and planted it to Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon—grapes that would later go into Sassicaia. In 1992 they released their first wine, the Left Bank-inspired Giusto di Notri, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. The early vintages of this wine evinced the same character as today’s 2016 release: rich, sun-kissed opulence, streaked with a trademark iron-like minerality and salinity, a product of the silt and clay soils carried down from the metalliferous hills of the Val di Cornia.

For the value, Giusto di Notri is truly a best in class wine, whose rewards will only grow greater with time. Antonio Galloni argued as much in his Central Tuscany vintage report published last month: “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.” For the cautious buyer, determined to tune out the trends and hype, this is close to a sure thing as it gets: full-bodied, classic Tuscan nobility.