Italy’s Castello di Gabbiano winery estate, located in Tuscany’s Chianti Classico region, has launched its first vintage of Dark Knight, an IGT red blend.
The inaugural bottling taps into the surging IGT Italian red wine category in the U.S., the company says. According to recent IRI data, the Italian Red Blend category saw a 15% volume growth (19% value) over a 52-week period last year.
The 2015 Castello di Gabbiano Dark Knight IGT Toscana was crafted by Tuscan-born winemaker Federico Cerelli, and is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese.
The wine has a suggested retail price of $17 per 750-ml. bottle. It’s imported into the U.S. by Treasury Wine Estates.
“Its price point fills a void in our wine lineup and gives consumers who appreciate history, travel and legend an opportunity to engage with Castello di Gabbiano,” said Sylvie Levesque, VP of imports for Treasury Wine Estates, in a press release. “In research, our packaging concept over-indexed across all metrics, including likeability, purchase intent and uniqueness which are usually strong predictors of on-shelf success.”
