Epicuro Beneventano Aglianico IGT

Wine: Epicuro Beneventano Aglianico IGT

Grape: aglianico

Region: Umbria, central Italy

Vintage: 2009

Price: $5.99

In the glass: Epicuro Beneventano wine is a deeply opaque blackish-purple color with an inky core going out into a deep purple rim definition with sticky high viscosity.

On the nose: There is a tremendous olfactory explosion of berry fruit character with crushed blueberries, cranberries, raspberries and morello cherries and underlying notes of spice-box, pu-erh tea, black peppercorns, tobacco and earthy minerals.

On the palate: This wine strikes with a serious fruit force, dominated by black cherry preserve, forest berries, spiced cranberry, huckleberry sauce, aniseed and blackened steak. The midpalate is very balanced, and while the tannins are powerful, they also are harmonious in mingling with the fruit yet showing some rustic pepper character. The finish is excellent with some raspberry jam and Good Earth Tea while lingering for at least 25 seconds.

Odds and ends: As the temperatures drop, we are ready for sturdier and "heavier" wines. Such wines can include full-bodied zinfandels and malbecs, but Italy produces several of these great concentrated "monster" wines. An example is the wine made from the indigenous grape variety aglianico. Epicuro Beneventano is such a wine, and it is an extremely distinct specimen of this particular category. Beautifully packaged and found exclusively at Trader Joe's, this wine has everything you're looking for in a great full-bodied red and costs less than $6. We have a great market for these wines, because the Europeans find them too heavy, while in America we love them. And what's not to love here? Found and brought to market by that great Italian value hunter Gaetano d'Aquino, who honed his skills in the wine business right here in Las Vegas, this wine is a highly recommended selection for your seasonal dinner table. It can go with anything from pot roast to goulash and will deliver a serious bang for the buck. Drink it now through 2014.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.