d’Aragona Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Red Wine

Grape: Montepulciano

Region: Abruzzi Region, central Italy

Vintage: 2006

Price: $9.99

In the glass: d’Aragona Montepulciano is a deeply opaque, garnet-red color with a deep crimson core going out into a tinged blood-red rim definition with medium-high viscosity.

On the nose: The initial impression is of freshly baked cherry pie with a drizzle of spices, but then the wine opens up to reveal crushed black and red fruits, stewed red plums, cherry wood, tanned leather, undergrowth, minerals and mixed herbs.

On the palate: The wine has excellent concentration on the palate, showing layers of crushed black and red fruits with dominance by red plums and cherries, then elderberry, loganberry, sloe fruit, cherries jubilee, compote, aniseed, earth-driven mineral components and faint wood references. The midpalate is juicy and cherry-fruit laden going into the solid finish that is laced with fine tannins and good length.

Odds and ends: Montepulciano is a grape varietal that has lost out to sangiovese, but this is a great little wine at the right price. Made in a classic style by a well-known producer, it is a decidedly rustic food wine and therefore requires hearty Italian fare such as osso buco Milanese or spaghetti Bolognese. It should drink well through 2010.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.