2008 Tua Rita Giusto di Notri Toscana IGT, Tuscany, Italy, 2 bottles

Description

• 1/24/2026 – ploher wrote:

  From memory. Lovely sweet, dark fruit, nutty, quite some tannins still but the full bodied palate can handle it. Good freshness despite the power. For me a truly great Cabernet that hints at Bordeaux but has its own Italian identity. Drink or hold. 18/20

  4/23/2024 – sfwinelover1 Likes this wine:

  4th of 4, and what a shame to check the box on the last of these leaving the cellar. Really nothing to add to my TN of 6 months ago, other than to say that that time has done nothing to diminish its drinking window. These Tuscan BDX blends are really a thing unto themselves, occupying a wonderful space between the mothership and my local fare, more richness than the former, more savoriness than the latter. If I could repeat this larcenous price, I’d back up a truck, although I did just buy a couple of ‘12s for about $10@ more. 95++ if scoring

  3/8/2024 – Vinogan(s) wrote:93 Points

  Quite young showing, still plenty of life and some muscle left. This is what good bordeaux should be, but fails to accomplish

  3/5/2024 – Kris G Likes this wine:92 Points

  Juicy black fruits, herbs, small bitter touch, in a perfect spot now

  10/31/2023 – sfwinelover1 Likes this wine:

  Third of four, and this continues to be outstanding. Still youthful, muscular and needing at least a couple of hours to show its best, this opens to show a tantalizing mix of dark, gothic elements and Tuscan terroir, revealing itself slowly but steadily over hours and a couple of evenings. This is profound stuff, drinking beautifully, with more good years ahead than behind it, really nice on its own but just stunning with spaghetti and meatballs. At what I paid for each, this, the ‘08 Sammarco, the ‘12 Grattamaco L’Aberello, and the ‘07 LMGP make a case that no area is doing better with BDX varietals in the sub $100 range (in the case of this, sub $50, if barely) than Tuscany. Profound stuff. 95+ if scoring

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  3/12/2023 – pdxwinefan wrote:

  Highly structured with both tannin and acidity. Fruit is subdued. Needed food.

  I liked this, but it came off as very muscular and not easily accessed.

  Probably should have decanted for a lot longer.

  2/23/2023 – Vinogan(s) wrote:93 Points

  Excellent vintage for this wine. The note below accurately summarizes it

  2/18/2023 – forceberry wrote:94 Points

  A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (30%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). Aged for 18 months in first and second use French oak barriques. 14,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.

  Dense, concentrated and fully opaque black cherry color. The nose feels rich, youthful and fruit-forward with a very Bordeaux-like aromas of almost primary blackcurrant-driven dark fruit, some plummy tones, a little bit of minty greenness, light floral nuances of violets, a hint of pipe tobacco, a touch of wizened figs and a whiff of roasted meat. The wine feels dense, ripe and chewy yet not heavy on the palate with a full body and very focused flavors of juicy plums and ripe blackcurrants, some youthful bilberry tones, a little bit of meaty umami, light evolved nuances of wizened figs, a hint of toasty oak spice and a touch of game. The overall feel is quite firm, tightly-knit and impressively structured with the high acidity and firm, grippy yet wonderfully fine-grained tannins. The finish is ripe, spicy and quite grippy with a very long and powerful aftertaste of ripe dark fruits, some toasty oak tones, a little bit of woody oak spice, light blackcurrant nuances, hints of bilberries and wizened figs and a touch of meaty umami.

  Rich, firm and impressively focused Bordeaux clone from Tuscany. Normally I’m not a big fan of modern Bordeaux nor Super Tuscans, but I found this wine quite impressive: although you could taste the oak influence, it didn’t feel overdone at any point; the ripe fruit managed to retain great freshness and sense of structure; and the overall feel was very firm, balanced and also surprisingly youthful for its age. I thought the wine was much younger than it actually was and my initial guess was 2018 Bordeaux. Truth be told, I’d rather drink this than a great majority of what has been made in Bordeaux over the last 10 years or so. As the wine seemed to be so very youthful, I’d say this will continue to improve for years – perhaps even a few decades. Superb stuff, priced according to its quality at approx. 60€.

  12/25/2022 – ploher wrote:

  Beautiful black fruit, walnuts, cigar box. Big and full-bodied palate, but the fruit is is fresh and crisp, not hot or overripe. Polished tannins and a long finish. Drinking great and will do so for a long time. 18/20.

  11/2/2022 – sfwinelover1 Likes this wine:95 Points

  First of 4 ($49@) from Napa cellaring operation #2. On the nose and palate, ripe and savory boysenberries, black and blueberries, huckleberries, earthy minerality, cedar, cigar smoke, black tea, wildflowers and fallen leaves. Deep magenta, full bodied, thick legs. Robust acidity and tannins, no heat. Outstanding complexity, intensity and persistence. I had a bottle of the ‘16 in my collection and had had both the ‘15 and ‘16 of this at a few tastings, but this is the first I popped, and wow, did it deliver. Angular, but not unpleasantly so, off the pour, this balanced beautifully, a wine of larger than life but proportionate elements, like most of its Tuscan kin, immaculately structured, long, skewing more savory than sweet. This stunned with the various roasted meats which are, unusually, hanging around sfwl’s abode—some left over from BDX fest—but absolutely and equally rocks on its own. I’ve been drinking some expensive and notable Cabs and Cab blends in the past 10 days—in addition to my prodigious TNs, I did tastings at Arrow & Branch and Crocker & Starr—and of that high-flying group, pretty much all more than double, some 7-8x what I paid per bottle of this, the only clearly better wines (to me) were the 2 A&B SVD cabs, the Abreu and the Pontet, which, considering relative price points, is just insane. Concur with those suggesting that this is early drinking window, may not improve, but has lots of life left. I find this vintage pretty bumpy in Tuscany, as well as Napa and BDX, but this is just rock solid, better than it has any right to be. Much love, as always, to those making dark vinified products in Tuscany, and while I may not get to visit you in 2023, if my vitals are all pointing up, 2024 will certainly beckon. 94-95+