Rosso dei Notri 2019

This is a wine much-loved by the critics at Wine Advocate, who inevitably finish their reviews each year with a line like: “You can't beat this excellent value from Tuscany.”

Rosso dei Notri is all about freshness. A blend of organically farmed Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, it includes grapes picked two weeks earlier than most to create a crisp and satisfying red. There’s no hiding behind years of oak, it spends just four months in barriques before being bottled. The result is a wine that you instantly fall head over heels in love with. Exuberant, vibrant and crunchy; it’s packed with blackberries, blackcurrants, toasted hazelnuts, summery red fruit and a buzz of electrifying acidity. One of our absolute favourites to pair with pizza.

Rita Tua and her late husband bought their property in Suvereto, just south of Bolgheri in the province of Livorno in the early-1980s. They planted vineyards of Bordeaux varieties like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in Colline Metallifere (Upper Maremma) and released their first boutique ‘garage wines’ about a decade later. But Tua Rita really burst on to the fine wine scene when their Redigaffi 2000 became the first ever Italian wine to receive a perfect 100-point score from Robert Parker.

Overnight, Tua Rita became one of the spearheads of a new wave of cult Super Tuscans. But this isn’t a glamorous château-style property, it’s a rural family home that has earnt its reputation based on hard graft and attention to detail. Now, run by Rita’s daughter Simena and her husband Stefano Frascolla, it remains one of the pioneering gems of the Tuscan coast.