Poggio Argentiera and Tua Rita Tuscan wine Tasting with Special Guest Owner Giovanni Frascolla

“wasting our time on cheap talk and wine, left us so little to give”
Best of My Love by the Eagles

Tuscany is one of Italy’s leading wine producing regions and is home to some Italy’s most popular wines like Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti Classico as well as "Supertuscan" wines like Tignanello, Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Redigaffi.  The also have some incredible values in the lesser known Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano and the greatest value in a DOCG red wine Morellino di Scansano.

So, when our good friends at Empson told me that the owner of Poggio Argentiera was in town with his newest release from the little known Morellino Di Scansano DOCG, I said three young wines is not even enough to host even a Happy Hour tasting at Wine Watch.  Then, when I found out the family owned another winery in Tuscany called Tua Rita I said perfect!  We have several older vintages of their most sought after wine Redigaffi!

We get to turn our “Wine Drinking People” on to one of the greatest values in Tuscany in Morellino Di Scansano as well as taste three older vintages of the greatest Merlot based wines from Tuscany with the owner of the winery!  This will be an incredible evening… I even found an older vintage of their Syrah laying around to add to the line-up!  You always get extra at a Wine Watch tasting!!

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is only $250 + tax, which is less than the price of a single bottle of any vintage of the Redigaffi on the table Tonight!  For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. 

Poggio Argentiera and Tua Rita Tuscan wine Tasting
with Special Guest Owner Giovanni Frascolla
Thursday, October 19th
7:30pm

2020 POGGIO ARGENTIERA 'BELLAMARSILIA' MORELLINO DI SCANSANO DOCG, TUSCANY, ITALY
2018 POGGIO ARGENTIERA CAPATOSTA, MORELLINO DI SCANSANO RISERVA DOCG, ITALY
2019 POGGIO ARGENTIERA 'POGGIORASO' CABERNET FRANC TOSCANA IGT, TUSCANY, ITALY
2021 TUA RITA ROSSO DI NOTRI TOSCANA IGT, TUSCANY, ITALY
2018 TUA RITA PERLATO DEL BOSCO
2020 TUA RITA GIUSTO DI NOTRI TOSCANA IGT, TUSCANY, ITALY
2007 TUA RITA REDIGAFFI TUSCANY
2009 TUA RITA REDIGAFFI TUSCANY
2011 TUA RITA REDIGAFFI TUSCANY
2009 TUA RITA SYRAH PER SEMPRE TOSCANA IGT

Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
Italian Wedding Soup
Grilled Porcini Mushroom Carpaccio with Heirloom Tomato Tartar and Basil Olive Oil
Bistecca alla Fiorentina with Sangiovese Natural Sauce and
Almond Biscotti with Limoncello Whipped Creme

The fee for this tasting is $250 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.  Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any food allergies or aversions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.

Poggio Argentiera Winery

Poggio Argentiera was founded in 1997 with the purchase of the Adua farm, dating back to the early '900, the era of the reclamation of the Maremma.

In the original 6 hectares Morellino di Scansano began to be produced, then the new winemaking cellar was built and in 2001 the property was expanded thanks to the purchase of another farm, located in the hilly area of Bacinello, in the municipality of Scansano.

New plants are added to the old and precious vineyards and today the company has 20 hectares of production land included in the Morellino DOCG.

The 20 hectares of the company are distributed between Podere Adua, where the company's business center is also located, and the vineyards located in Bacinello.

Podere Adua is located in the area adjacent to the natural park of Maremma, in front of Marina di Alberese. The vineyards are located at an altitude equal to sea level, which is just about 5-6km away.
Here the soils are mainly sandy and loamy, with little clay and little organic matter.

The situation is very different in the vineyards located in Bacinello, which are located at a higher altitude, on the hills, in the municipality of Scansano. The natural inclination, the exposure and the composition of the extremely stony soil have made possible, in this part of the company, vineyards of extraordinary charm and unique peculiarities.

The red wines are distinguished both by some expressions of DOCG Morellino di Scansano – certainly protagonist among the wines that are born in this company and children of a land that gives, thanks to its soil, wines of freshness, drinkability and good longevity – and by allochthonous vines that, thanks to our position, have a unique timbre.

2020 POGGIO ARGENTIERA 'BELLAMARSILIA' MORELLINO DI SCANSANO DOCG, TUSCANY, ITALY
Price: $23.50                   Your Price: $20.68
Terrain: Vineyards in the Baccinello area – soils rich in pebbles of alluvial origin with a prevalence of calcareous clays. Vineyards in the Alberese area – prevalence of sand and silt
Agronomic management of the vineyards: Integrated Pest Management

2018 POGGIO ARGENTIERA CAPATOSTA, MORELLINO DI SCANSANO RISERVA DOCG, ITALY
Price: $30.00     Your Price: $26.40
Terrain: Vineyards in the Baccinello area – soils rich in pebbles of alluvial origin with a prevalence of calcareous clays. Vineyards in the Alberese area – prevalence of sand and silt

2019 POGGIO ARGENTIERA 'POGGIORASO' CABERNET FRANC TOSCANA IGT, TUSCANY, ITALY
Price: $55.50                   Your Price: $48.84
Terrain: Vineyards in the Baccinello area – soils rich in pebbles of alluvial origin with a prevalence of calcareous clays. Vineyards in the Alberese area – prevalence of sand and silt
Agronomic management of the vineyards: Integrated pest management

Tua Rita Winery

This estate was purchased in 1984 and was founded on Rita’s and Virgilio’s insistence of retreating to a quite place to spend their retirement by cultivating the land and being with family, their two greatest passions.

It was exactly this enthusiasm that pushed them to concentrate their energies and means to exploit the great potential which this small plot of land was hiding.

The winery, located in Notri in Suvereto, lies approximately 100 meters above sea level and is made up of medium-textured, clayey lands, rich in micro-elements such as iron and zinc that distinguish the wines with “mineral regionality” and in which the international varieties find rather favorable environment.

It was thus by a lucky intuition that the couple planted Merlot  and Cabernet Sauvignon, because by blending the two grape varietals Giusto di Notri was born in 1992, which was an instant sucess in the national and international press for its depth and “Tuscanicity” encountered in the glass.

Later they decided to leave two barriques of Merlot and make them into wine without blending.  In 1994 Redigaffi would become a cult wine and one of the first Italian wines to obtain a perfect 100 point score from Robert Parker Jr. with its 2000 vintage.  It’s praise like this that enabled Tua Rita to be added to the list of the 100 best wineries of the world according to the prestigious Revue du Vin  de France.
An escalation of successes began for Tua Rita that over the years led it to expand and modernize the cellar. Thanks to the collaboration of their son-in-law Stefano Frascolla (owner of the winery of the same name) and of oenologist Dr. Stefano Chioccioli the winery today extends over 50 Hectars of which  30 Hectars are under vine.  Production stands at 110.000 bottles, spread among five red wines and two white ones.

2007 TUA RITA REDIGAFFI TUSCANY
Price: $350.00                 Your Price: $308.00              Quantity in Stock: 5
(98 Points) Shows violet, cream, mineral, mint and blueberry on the nose. Full-bodied, with fabulous fruit and polished, velvety tannins. The finish lasts for minutes. The balance is wonderful. Deep and beautiful. Hard not to drink now. Merlot. Best after 2012. 830 cases made.  Wine Spectator
2009 TUA RITA REDIGAFFI TUSCANY
Price: $300.00                 Your Price: $264.00              Quantity in Stock: 1
(94 Points) From another hot vintage, the 2009 Redigaffi reveals a very concentrated and thick personality (which also reflects the stylistic preference of these years). The bouquet is redolent of thick blackberry preserves, charred spice and syrupy blackcurrant. There is a pretty mineral note as well with a point of graphite or pencil shaving that gives the bouquet some much needed vertical lift and linearity. Again, the wine flaunts its ripeness, but like other vintages we see in this retrospective, there are no overtly oxidized aromas.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2011 TUA RITA REDIGAFFI TUSCANY
Price: $265.00                 Your Price: $233.20              Quantity in Stock: 14
(95 Points) 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, even though the team had waited to achieve complete phenolic ripeness before picking. This 2011 Redigaffi has perfumed, smoky, ripe black cherry notes with precise and nicely controlled aromas and some powerful charred oak. On the palate it is rich and quite viscous, with a more refined quality to the tannins which have now developed a fine, silty texture.  Decanter
2020 TUA RITA REDIGAFFI TUSCANY
Price: $333.00                 Your Price: $293.04
(95 Points) The Redigaffi from Tua Rita is one of the most consistently decorated Merlots in the wine world. The 2020 vintage produced lower yields in Tuscany but wines of a very high quality. This pedigreed Merlot from Tua Rita offers abundant aromas of white pepper, barrel spice, vanilla and dusty black fruit. The palate is fruit-forward with late-season blackberry, black cherry and chocolate. The wine pulls of the higher alcohol without a hint of notice.  Decanter

2019 TUA RITA PERLATO DEL BOSCO ROSSO TOSCANA IGT, TUSCANY, ITALY
Price: $41.50                   Your Price: $36.52
(93 Points) A pure expression of Sangiovese, the Tua Rita 2019 Perlato del Bosco comes from what Stefano Frascolla calls "an odd but ultimately very easy vintage" in terms of farming. This is a historic entry-level red that has been made since 1992 and is closing in on its 30th anniversary. The wood regime that favors large oak cask was tweaked in 2002, and the wine delivers lots of primary intensity and varietal purity in its current incarnation. This is one of the most Sangiovese-tasting Sangioveses made on the Tuscan Coast, with wild berry, cherry and blue flower. Fruit comes from a 4.5-hectare plot.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2018 TUA RITA PERLATO DEL BOSCO ROSSO TOSCANA IGT, TUSCANY, ITALY
Price: $32.50                   Your Price: $28.60              Quantity in Stock: 5
Perlato del Bosco is made entirely with Sangiovese from estate vineyards in Suvereto. The grapes are harvested and vinified in stainless steel before being aged for 12 months in a combination of French oak barriques and large barrels. Tasting Notes Concentrated, dense, nearly opaque purple in color, Perlato del Bosco delivers tantalizing aromas of blackberries, black cherries, currants, ripe plums, tea leaves, exotic spices, and leather. Rich and full-bodied on the palate, this wine's enticing fruit flavors are accompanied by notes of anise, violets, and peppery spice, all of which are framed by fine-grained tannins

2020 TUA RITA SYRAH PER SEMPRE TOSCANA IGT
Price: $260.00                 Your Price: $228.80
(97 Points) This new vintage is just terrific because it marries a sunny growing season with a grape like Syrah, which thrives in these conditions. The Tua Rita 2020 Syrah Per Sempre embraces juicy, full-bodied fruit with lots of blackberry, plum, sweet spice and campfire ash. Stefano Frascolla deliberately seeks to avoid any eucalyptus or camphor-like overtones. He looks for bold primary fruit instead. This is achieved through fruit ripeness, vineyard care and oak management. Syrah has a short harvest window, so timing is important. The vineyards are planted in marl soils with schistic material that is typical of the mineral-rich hills surrounding Suvereto. The wine goes from barrique to botte grande for an additional two or three months to stretch its legs. The 2019 vintage is gorgeous, but this expression from 2020 has more power and heft.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2020 TUA RITA GIUSTO DI NOTRI TOSCANA IGT, TUSCANY, ITALY
Price: $105.00                 Your Price: $92.40
(96 Points) A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Merlot, the 2020 Giusto di Notri is a ripe, bold and generous wine. The DNA of the wine has changed slightly over the years to favor the Cabernet Franc (with an increased percentage) over the Merlot, which has fallen from a previous high of about 35% to 40% of the blend a decade ago. What I like about this wine is that it manages an elegant, almost understated interpretation of a hot and dry vintage. The tannins are especially well managed in this situation. In 2020, Tua Rita's harvest was finished by October 6th.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2021 TUA RITA ROSSO DI NOTRI TOSCANA IGT, TUSCANY, ITALY
Price: $24.50                   Your Price: $21.56
(89 Points) This is an entry-level blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Sangiovese (although this last grape has been considerably reduced). The Tua Rita 2021 Rosso dei Notri shows nice freshness, dark cherry and light spice. So-called "legno tecnico" (or staves) are used. Instead of putting the wine in oak, oak staves are put into the wine to round out its easygoing flavor profile. Some neutral barrique is used, and in challenging vintages, declassified wine ends up in the Rosso dei Notri. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate