The Auswine Forum

G'day

I'll be honest. I got hold of this wine because my partner's name is Rita. How many of us have done that? What if your partner is named Grace?

However, we were not disappointed by the bottle's contents. By the way, this is 90% Sangiovese and 10% Syrah, which means it only qualifies as IGT.

Red/purple in colour. Complex nose with sour cherry, plums, a little leather and savoury notes, coffee and chocolate, and dried herbs. If the nose was complex, the palate really took off with intensity. The developed fruit flavours were amplified, and well supported by freshening acid, fine but grippy tannins, and a well textured mouthfeel. Quite full bodied and a very long finish.

For a 20 year old wine, we were surprised at how well it held up. No sign of falling over soon, and I would be delighted to lay my hands on a couple more of these.

Cheers
Allan

Grace vineyard wines from China

Yes for sure, though with a slight variant on the name. Not just my partner, but also other friends. Whilst I didn't get him a bottle, I did let a colleague know about there being a 'Benno' vineyard bottle in a local wine shop and he sounded keen to get it. I doubt he gets much opportunity to have something that shares his name.

I've only tasted Rita Tua's wines once before, at a big scrum tasting in London. Stylistically they didn't grab me, but I could see how they would appeal. Good to see this ageing so well, and I rather like aged Sangiovese, be it in Chianti, Montepulciano or Emilia-Romagna (Brunello has been too hit or miss for me). It may be a mere 10% dab of Syrah, but it's a variety that has good potential in Tuscany, and I absolutely love the Isole e Olena Syrah Collezione de Marchi, which absolutely has an Italian / Tuscan accent to it. I see there is a Tua Rita Syrah, so that might be worth trying as well.

Thanks Ian

I'll also admit to having bottles purely based on names, and sharing them with the individual concerned. In this case, there's two more apart from Tua Rita, and they are:

1. We have all heard of Veuve Cliquot, and when I spent a month in France in 2013,it was one of two champagnes that we purchased in quantity from the local hypermarket. However, in the same town that housed the hypermarket, there was a bar where I spotted a bottle of Veuve Elisabeth on the shelf. My eldest daughter is Elizabeth (and we've run out of 1996 Mt Pleasant Elizabeth after about a 20 year run) and I negotiated (probably poorly) the purchase of this champagne and brought it home in my luggage. 40 Euros was probably 4 times too much, but sentimentality gets in the way sometimes.

2. My youngest daughter (I only have two) is Grace, and no, I haven't shared a Hill of Grace with her. However, a T'Gallant Grace pinot grigio has occupied a place on my Wall of Fame (Shame?) for some years now, and should probably be replaced with a Cape Grace bottle. Alas, Grace herself doesn't drink wine, on medical advice (she is about to graduate as a doctor).

That's it. To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a Bordeaux called Chateau Alain, and my search has stopped.

Cheers
Allan