Masciarelli Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2007

bargain hunters will love this red from italy. selling for about $9, this wine is 100% montepulciano from southern italy. the nose has lots of ripe red fruits (cherry and currant), some earth notes and tobacco. the palate is loaded with red currant, cherries, some nice touches of violet and finishes with tobacco and black licorice. lots of complexity for a wine at this price level. good with sausage and rice or other somewhat spicy meat or pasta dishes.

Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006

sorry for the lack of posts lately. lots of travel happening at the baldwinegeek house, but that does lead to trying some different wines, like this italian red. i enjoyed this with some home-made lasagna. an excellent food wine that sells for about $10 a bottle, this has a nose of black cherry, leather and earth. the palate was young and a bit tight but opened nicely with flavors of cherry and tobacco, with some floral notes of violets and nice, long finish. i would recommend picking up a couple bottles at this price. a nice, every day red.