2015 Castello di Montegiove Gatto Gatto Orvietano Rosso
Tasting Notes
Transparent ruby red wine. Nose of cherry, red currant, violet, and herbs. Balanced taste with well-managed and integrated tannins. Fresh, dry finish with aromatic herbs reminiscences.
The name of this wine is inspired by the medieval battle cry of the warlord Gattamelata and his garrison, who took possession of the Castle of Montegiove during the late XV century. Gatto Gatto is produced from a blend of the traditional Umbrian varietals Sangiovese and Canaiolo Nero and is Mis en Bouteille au Château. It is a relatively young wine that maintains a fresh and fruity character after short aging in large oak casks and older barriques and tonneaux. It has a brilliant ruby red colour with a slight purple hue, and is intensely fragrant, yet is also complex and enveloping. Gatto Gatto compliments most culinary occasions and does not require strict matching, but we suggest serving it with hors d’oeuvres, cheeses, cured meats, poultry, and fowl.
Specs
Vintage: 2015
Varietals: 66% Sangiovese, 34% Canaiolo Nero
Denomination: Orvietano Rosso D.O.C. – Denominazione di Origine Controllata (PDO-IT-A0847)
Alcohol: 13.38%
Total acidity: 4.5 g/l (tartaric acid).
Total dry extract: 26.8 g/l.
Glucose+fructose: 0.2 g/l
2018 Castello di Montegiove Orvietano Rosso
Tasting Notes
A fresh and fruity young wine with a brilliant ruby red to purple colour, it is intensely fragrant, yet is also complex and enveloping. Castello di Montegiove complements most culinary occasions and does not require strict matching, but we suggest serving it with hors d’oeuvres, cheeses, cured meats, pasta, pizza, or poultry and fowl.
Specs
Vintage: 2018
Varietals: 66% Sangiovese, 34% Canaiolo Nero
Denomination: Orvietano Rosso D.O.C. – Denominazione di Origine Controllata
Alcohol: 13.5%
Total acidity: 5.3 g/l (tartaric acid)
Total dry extract: 27.6 g/l.
Glucose+fructose: 0.2 g/l.
Type of soil: Montegiove is situated geologically on the “Tuscan nappe”, where the upper argilloscistic layer is penetrated by the intermediate silty-marly layer. This gives rise to very varying soil types ranging from calcareous clay and silt of sedimentary origin to sandy clay, red soil, and sub-alkaline medium limestone. The estate covers more than 1200 ha comprising a multitude of different soil types, thus allowing the different grape varieties to be planted only at the most suitable sites with respect to soil type, microclimate, and sun exposure.
Exposure: North/South oriented vineyards of “Il Piano” and “L’Aiaccia”
Altitude: Between 450 and 480 meters above sea level
Age of vines: vineyards established in 2007 and 2009
Vinification: Each vineyard and variety are vinified separately after a soft destemming and gentle transfer into a stainless steel vat of 51 hl capacity with full temperature control. Alcoholic fermentation for approximately 7 days at a temperature below 28 °C, with pumping over and delestage at decreasing intensity. After the alcoholic fermentation a period of maceration on the skins of 10-15 days on average. Gentle pressing followed by natural malolactic fermentation in stainless steel vats. The wine has been clarified by racking and gently filtered upon final assembly.
Ageing methods: 9 months in stainless steel and in older 10 hl Slavonian oak casks followed by assembly and 18 months of fining in cement vat of 86 hl.
What’s Included
2-bottles:
1x 2015 Castello di Montegiove Gatto Gatto Orvietano Rosso
1x 2018 Castello di Montegiove Orvietano Rosso
Case:
6x 2018 Castello di Montegiove Orvietano Rosso
6x 2015 Castello di Montegiove Gatto Gatto Orvietano Rosso
Wine has been produced here for centuries, presumably since Etruscan times. The first written reference to the existence of vineyards in Montegiove dates back to 1292. The estate’s oldest vineyard still in production nowadays dates back to 1968. Originally, the vineyards were planted on sites based solely on generations of experience and common sense. Over the centuries, this common sense knowledge of soils and microclimates has been shown to be just as in-depth as the research carried out today. More than 700 years later, the vineyards of Montegiove are still producing grapes of exceptional quality.
The estate’s production vineyards are planted exclusively with red grape varietals; predominantly Sangiovese, Montepulciano, and Sagrantino, but also Canaiolo, Barbera, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The vineyards are situated in the DOC area of Orvieto, commonly known for white wine due to its rich volcanic soil. The classification is merely due to an administrative and historical location, as Montegiove is geologically situated on the “Tuscan nappe”, which is much richer in clay and limestone. In fact, the soils are relatively similar to those that can be found in the neighboring province of Siena, in Southern Tuscany, and extremely suitable for the creation of red wines of superb structure and complexity.
Soil types vary immensely on the estate with altitudes that range from 380 to 620 metres. The vineyards dotting this enchanting landscape have been planted with the grape varietals most suited to the unique soils and microclimates found at each precise site. This ensures the best possible grape quality right from the start. Nature comes first, and afterward, it’s up to the dedicated team of vineyard workers to prune them to perfection, maintain desired yields, and guarantee the highest quality grapes every year.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Quick review of the 2015 Castello di Montegiove Gatto Gatto Orvietano Rosso
This was a well-crafted and exceedingly well balanced wine. If I didn’t know better, I would never have guessed it was 2015, because it honestly took a day or two to completely open up. I suspect this could go quite a long time in the cellar.
On initial pour, I was mostly struck by its structure- bright acid, elegant and nearly delicate spice and sweet tobacco notes contrasted with the astringency of classic sangiovese tannins, just overall a very pleasant wine with some savory and spice notes .
Two days later, and the wine opened up a lot, with a much bigger middle and an abundance of dried fruit and savory earthy notes.
Thanks to Alice and WineDavid. I received the 2018 Castello di Montegiove Orvietano Rosso about a week ago, and still have a pleasant memory of this wine.
To me it tasted a lot like a Chianti Classico, but better; I think the addition of Canaiolo Nero to the mix enhanced the fruit, moving the wine from old-world toward the new-world which I prefer. The obvious “Gourmet” pairing for this wine is pizza or pasta. The wine did improve on day 2, but none was available for day 3…sorry.
OK, from notes I made real-time. Pop-n-pour; “I popped the cork and instantly got a strong dark fruit smell. I said “This is going to be good!”. On pop-n-pour; very old-world; as I expected, dry, tannic, not a lot of fruit. Now, with a little air (half an hour), it’s tasting much better.”, “Upon tasting, I do think the addition of Canaiolo Nero adds some fruit to the mix, as I think some pure Sangio Chianti Classicos are far too austere.”, “We typically drink wine before dinner, and not with food, but this wine we had both alone, and with a meal of meatloaf, sweet potatoes and green stuff. The “Gourmet” pairing is pizza or pasta, makes perfect sense.”, and finally, “This wine is listed at 13.5% ABV, but seems to be hitting me on the high side of that claim.”.
Oh…and SWMBO really liked this wine, and is OK with the pricing on this offer!
If you like a good Sangiovese-based Italian wine, this wine would be a good buy.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
Castello di Montegiove Mixed Reds - $80 = 29.62%
Another offering from One Vine Wines/Big Hammer. According to their website the 2015 has a 90 point rating from Luca Maroni (well that’s pretty damning, it must really suck…ha!) and 90 points from Doctor Wine? (Daniele Cernilli).
The 2018 also garnered 90 points from Luca Maroni.
A little video discussion on the wines from Big Hammer here
@kaolis Yeah, while I was ratting this wine I wrote:
“Luca Maroni only gave this wine a score of 90. Fortunately this wine is much better than a LM 90 (undrinkable swill) would indicate.”
I can take a swing on these. If they are, at worst, pizza wine, it’s still a nice holiday deal. I don’t know the historic percentages of wine in chianti, which went out of style as the super tuscan wines took off. This seems fairly classic in its approach.
2015 Castello di Montegiove Gatto Gatto Orvietano Rosso
Tasting Notes
Specs
2018 Castello di Montegiove Orvietano Rosso
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
2-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not available on winery website, $552/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Dec 16 - Tuesday, Dec 17
Castello di Montegiove Mixed Reds
2 bottles for $44.99 $22.50/bottle + $4/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $189.99 $15.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2015 Castello di Montegiove Orvietano Rosso
2018 Castello di Montegiove Orvietano Rosso
Quick review of the 2015 Castello di Montegiove Gatto Gatto Orvietano Rosso
This was a well-crafted and exceedingly well balanced wine. If I didn’t know better, I would never have guessed it was 2015, because it honestly took a day or two to completely open up. I suspect this could go quite a long time in the cellar.
On initial pour, I was mostly struck by its structure- bright acid, elegant and nearly delicate spice and sweet tobacco notes contrasted with the astringency of classic sangiovese tannins, just overall a very pleasant wine with some savory and spice notes .
Two days later, and the wine opened up a lot, with a much bigger middle and an abundance of dried fruit and savory earthy notes.
Thanks to Alice and WineDavid. I received the 2018 Castello di Montegiove Orvietano Rosso about a week ago, and still have a pleasant memory of this wine.
To me it tasted a lot like a Chianti Classico, but better; I think the addition of Canaiolo Nero to the mix enhanced the fruit, moving the wine from old-world toward the new-world which I prefer. The obvious “Gourmet” pairing for this wine is pizza or pasta. The wine did improve on day 2, but none was available for day 3…sorry.
OK, from notes I made real-time. Pop-n-pour; “I popped the cork and instantly got a strong dark fruit smell. I said “This is going to be good!”. On pop-n-pour; very old-world; as I expected, dry, tannic, not a lot of fruit. Now, with a little air (half an hour), it’s tasting much better.”, “Upon tasting, I do think the addition of Canaiolo Nero adds some fruit to the mix, as I think some pure Sangio Chianti Classicos are far too austere.”, “We typically drink wine before dinner, and not with food, but this wine we had both alone, and with a meal of meatloaf, sweet potatoes and green stuff. The “Gourmet” pairing is pizza or pasta, makes perfect sense.”, and finally, “This wine is listed at 13.5% ABV, but seems to be hitting me on the high side of that claim.”.
Oh…and SWMBO really liked this wine, and is OK with the pricing on this offer!
If you like a good Sangiovese-based Italian wine, this wine would be a good buy.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
Castello di Montegiove Mixed Reds - $80 = 29.62%
Another offering from One Vine Wines/Big Hammer. According to their website the 2015 has a 90 point rating from Luca Maroni (well that’s pretty damning, it must really suck…ha!) and 90 points from Doctor Wine? (Daniele Cernilli).
The 2018 also garnered 90 points from Luca Maroni.
A little video discussion on the wines from Big Hammer
here
fwiw
@kaolis also both decent vintages in Umbria apparently according to those in the know
@kaolis Maybe a little redundant but a little more detail from the winery about the 2015
and the 2018
@kaolis Yeah, while I was ratting this wine I wrote:
“Luca Maroni only gave this wine a score of 90. Fortunately this wine is much better than a LM 90 (undrinkable swill) would indicate.”
@FritzCat @kaolis this clarification means a lot. In my case, pushed off the fence for a case purchase! Thanks for the push!
/giphy studious-disturbing-roll
I’m intrigued! Let’s give it a go.
I can take a swing on these. If they are, at worst, pizza wine, it’s still a nice holiday deal. I don’t know the historic percentages of wine in chianti, which went out of style as the super tuscan wines took off. This seems fairly classic in its approach.
Interesting to me that the write-up lists “Glucose+fructose: 0.2 g/l” rather than RS. Is there a difference?
@davirom Good question, made me look and found
this
@davirom iirc %= g/l÷10. So like, 1% residual sugar is 10 g/l. So .9 g/l RS = .09% RS
But personally, I tend to go to g/l when it’s under 1% because people easily miss the decimal when they see the percent