I have started using this ink in my Nakaya Cigar with soft F nib.

The attached file seems to err on the the pink side, on my monitor, with my calibration. The actual colour is slightly more red, while the paper is much creamier. It's a Japanese notebook, on the lines of the Apica books. The ink comes in a 42ml bottle (see the photo forum, and Inky thoughts for my picture of that) and it cost ¥2000 here in Tokyo, at the Pen Boutique in Aoyama. I like the look of it, so far.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Looks good. I like the shading. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the review.

Neil

Thank you for sharing that. It's a very dignified and "classy" look, I can see it being used for invitations and other formal correspondence.

I do seem to recall that Montegrappa is one of the more expensive inks and perhaps that's why we haven't seen much of it. Also I don't recall it being available from the usual gang of online retailers (at least here in the US) which might also account for its rarity.

Nice color and shading. Thanks -- it's nice to see a different brand of ink reviewed here.

Based on the review, I purchased a bottle of Montegrappa Bordeaux from Paradise Pen (www.paradisepen.com). The ink cost $26.00 (with shipping) which is a lot more than I've paid for other inks. Unlike the scan in the original post, wherein this ink looks reddish, my bottle of Montegrappa Bordeaux looks orange. I was expecting a wine-colored ink based on the name and the orignal review's scan -- something more similar to Stipula Dark Red. I'm posting my Diamine Orange and Stipula Dark Red samples for the sake of comparison. It's obvious -- at least to me -- based on my own swab sample and diptest, that the bottle of ink I received from Paradise Pen is closer to Diamine Orange than Stipula Dark Red. I'm not sure what to make of it...



Edited: added link to Paradise Pen

That's really odd. Here's a swatch from cityorg.co.uk that makes it look like a deep burgundy. No orange there at all.

girlieg33k,

looks like you have an odd sample there! I just double-checked the box and it is definitely a Bordeaux. There's a small square representation of the ink colour on the outside of the box, which is also dark red. What colour is it on your sample?

Peter

I doubled checked the ink bottle, packaging, and my receipt from Paradise Pen, and it's Montegrappa Bordeaux. When I inspect the ink in the bottle, it definitely has an orange-tint to it -- and imagine my surprise when I went to diptest it, and it was definitely orange. When it dries on the page, it has some very light reddish undertones, but the color is definitely orange in hue. Very strange... Is it possible that the color changed over time when it was in storage at Paradise Pen? If so, should I contact Paradise Pen and ask to exchange it?

Now that's a mislabeled ink. Bordeaux is a red wine, after all (and a region, of course).

I agree, and I'm flummoxed that my bottle of Bordeaux looks orange.

Forget, what I wrote here, it may be wrong

It wouldn't hurt to contact them and it might work out well for you. Do let us know what happens.

g, it sure does look as though your ink was mislabeled. As an orange, though, it's eye-popping.

Did you shake the bottle? I'm wondering if all the redness settled out or something. Most likely, it's what others have said - a mislabeled bottle. That would be a shock, though!

(Kind of like when I opened a bottle of Noodler's Highland Heather and discovered the color of mud!)

The original review and the orange version are nice colors. I also think you have a mislabeled bottle. Call the seller to see if you can exchange it.

I did shake the bottle -- several times in fact -- and it was still orange. I called Paradise Pen and explained the situation. The woman I spoke to said she would ship another bottle out to me. I received it today, and it's still orange! I'm starting to wonder if this is a bad batch. No one else seems to carry this brand of ink in this color in the US (none that I can find anyway).

Also, like you, my first experience with Noodler's Highland Heather was awful. I was expecting a nice mauve color and instead, it was like thick mud. Several months down the line however, as I was working on my Ink Books, I popped open the Highland Heather and finally got the color I was expecting. So maybe I'll just let the Montegrappa Bordeaux bottles sit for awhile and shake them every so often. Perhaps it'll ferment to the desired color!

try the following ink:
MONTEGRAPPA SPECIAL RESERVE RED INK WITH WINE SCENT NEW

That is bizarre. I sampled a bottle of Montegrappa Bordeaux today and it’s close to [but paler than] nodrog’s scan.

Yes, I know, it's bizarre, isn't it? I have two bottles of the stuff, so I used one bottle as a base and mixed in various reds, browns, and a drop of black to come up with a "hodgepodge" Bordeaux-colour to my liking. What I came up with is quite nice, and it shades very nicely. So I'm chuffed with the result of my little colour-mixing experiment. The other bottle remains in "dormant" stage; I'm still hoping it ferments to the colour I was expecting...

If the fermenting does not work as expected, I hope at least 70% alc. is obtained in the end

Looks like you got a bad bottle. I bought a couple bottles, looks like a good Claret. So it is named correctly and looks like the other samples, nothing like yours. I would send it back. I think I got mine from Paradise as well. JD