This was a spontaneous end-cap buy at Trader Joe's, sparked by my curiosity about Sangiovese. It's 100% Sangiovese, from Italy's Puglia region. It's an attractive but very dark crimson-purple in the glass, with a faintly piney sour cherry aroma. It coats the glass quite thickly. Pungent, slightly acidic and resinous, but still fruity, this is a quaffable table wine, with a 12.5% ABV. It's a bit more tart than I'd expect from the herbal-fruity aroma, and decidedly spicey, even peppery (though some of that may be the alcohol, I suppose). Still, this is more fruit forward than I'd expect from a Sangiovese.

Not surprisingly, a number of the Trader Joe's wine bloggers have reviewed this wine. Jason tried it first in November of 2009, and liked it well enough to try another bottle. Mike Conway of Wine for the cheap is less enthusiastic, though I note he was trying the 2007 version.

This is a wine that can stand up for itself. We had it with dinner, and I can say it was quite pleasant with tacos. I suspect I wouldn't like it nearly as well without food; it would do well with antipasto; it's the perfect sort of wine to pick up a few bottles for a picnic with friends. I'm already thinking of this antipasto salad, though I'd use fresh herbs instead of dried, and make it in the morning, or maybe, the night before. In other words, I'd buy it again, though as bargain Saingiovese goes, I think I prefer the Ciao Bella version.