Obtained from a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon until the 2011 growing year, when it returned to its original Sangiovese-only format. All the grape’s ravishing sensory potential is gently coaxed out by the very special soil types and climate conditions on the Tua Rita estate. Perlato del Bosco Rosso is Sangiovese at its entrancing best.

www.tuarita.it

When in 1984 Rita and Virgilio purchased the property that was to become Tua Rita, the land and the buildings on it were only to be the setting for a life together lived in contact with nature, farming nature’s bounty. It was their overwhelming passion for making wine that changed those plans. The couple tended the original two hectares of vineyard with such scrupulous care that Tua Rita became one of Italy’s first successful producers of vins de garage. In barely a decade, the hectares under vine had risen to nine, at the start of the new millennium there were twenty and today Tua Rita farms some thirty hectares planted to vine. Estate and cellar went from strength to strength, driven by Rita and Virgilio’s commitment. Meanwhile the winery’s image was flourishing under the skilful hand of Stefano Frascolla, husband of the owners’ daughter Simena, who herself became involved in managing the enterprise following the death of her father in 2010. The estate’s name is a simple inversion of Rita Tua’s given name and surname.

• Sangiovese

  A black grape widely grown in Central Italy and the main component of Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano as well as being the sole permitted grape for the famed Brunello di Montalcino.
  It is a high yielding, late ripening grape that performs best on well-drained calcareous soils on south-facing hillsides. For years it was blighted by poor clonal selection and massive overcropping - however since the 1980s the quality of Sangiovese-based wines has rocketed upwards and they are now some of the most sought after in the world.
  
  It produces wines with pronounced tannins and acidity, though not always with great depth of colour, and its character can vary from farmyard/leather nuances through to essence of red cherries and plums. In the 1960s the advent of Super Tuscans saw bottlings of 100% Sangiovese wines, as well as the introduction of Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon blends, the most famous being Tignanello.