2010 Casale del Giglio, Mater Matuta, IGT Rosso, Lazio, Italy.
If Casale del Giglio were in Tuscany or better still in Bolgheri itself, these wines would demand twice the price, so while not cheap, their wines offer a tremendous value for the depth and quality you will find in the bottle from this Lazio estate located not far from Rome. The winery Casale del Giglio was founded in 1967 by Dino Santarelli in virgin territory, after falling for the Agro Pontino valley in Lazio’s south called Latina near the ancient city of Satricum, finding a perfect place for viticultural exploration and Casale del Giglio has never looked back, making some of the most interesting wines from a vast selection of native and non-native varietals. Casale del Giglio makes an eclectic array of whites and reds all of which are worth checking out, but their Mater Matuta red is their super flagship wine, it is a unique cuvee of Syrah and Petit Verdot making for a hedonistic, deeply flavored and opulent red. Like of cross of Bordeaux, Rhone and Barossa, but with Italian charm and character in it’s veins the Mater Matuta is almost black with garnet edges and comes to life in the glass with blueberry, blackberry, creme de cassis, mineral spice, truffle, dried roses, wild flowers, tar/licorice, lavender oil, minty Thai basil and peppercorn finishing with cedar, vanilla and plum sauce.
($55 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive
