The last wine for me to taste from Casale del Giglio is their top tier Mater Matuta Rosso IGT. It is a blend of Syrah 85% and Petit Verdot 15%. It seems a bit odd to review an Italian wine that has no indigenous grapes, but this shows that Italy is not just indigenous grapes. You can produce quality wines from vitis vinifera coming from other countries.
How was this wine made? It is quite a process. According to Casale del Giglio, “Both red grape varieties are harvested when fully ripe and vinified in two different ways. The submerged cap technique is favoured for the Syrah which ferments on native yeasts for 18-20 days. During the first few days of this process the fermenting must is racked and returned several times. Punching down is the technique for the Petit Verdot as this approach guarantees an optimal extraction of the grape’s tannins and polyphenolic compounds. It is the resulting full-bodied Petit Verdot which gives Mater Matuta its long aging potential while the Syrah gives it its complexity of character, highlighted by smooth tannins and an intense aroma of black cherry and spice. As the new wines are carefully drawn off, each to its own first-fill barriques, the colour, tannins and aromas still present in the fermented skins are extracted in the soft presses to which they slide, aided by nothing more than natural gravity. After 22-24 months in oak the wines are blended and left undisturbed in the bottle for a further 10-12 months.”
What is Mater Matuta?
The name Mater Matuta derives from that of the ancient Italic goddess of the dawn, protectress of fertility and birth. Her cult extended throughout central Italy and the famous temple of the ancient city of Satricum, situated close to Le Ferriere in the Province of Latina, was dedicated to her.
My Tasting Notes
Casale del Giglio Mater Matuta Rosso IGT 2016, Italy (BC $56.99 SPEC) – This wine is opaque garnet in the glass and when swirled you can see teardrops on the sides of the glass. This wine comes in at 14% alc. It has a medium intensity nose with deep aromas of black cherries, black fruit, toasty oak and some sweet spices. The nose was unchanged with decanting. This wine is dry, and round but does not have a heavy or full feel. It has quite a light mouthfeel. It is soft with medium intensity fine grained tannins and light acidity. A mix of black berries, black cherries, black fruits, plums and sweet spices, maybe a touch of floral, along with light toasted oak on the palate. With decanting the wine has a bigger, heavier mouthfeel and the black fruit component is more expressed. It has a longer length finishing with fine drying tannins, red cherries and a bit hot at the very end. With decanting you get black fruits on the finish. A fantastic wine whether you decant it or not.
Rating: 
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A wine full of finesse. It has lighter intensity aromas of black fruit, toasty oak and some sweet spices. A light mouthfeel, round but not full. Dry and soft with black berries, black fruit and sweet spices on the palate.
Where Can I Buy This Wine?
The Alberni and Bute BC Liquor Stores carry this wine. The following restaurant carries this wine:
- Cin Cin
