2001 Cantina Zaccagnini Riserva (Montepulciano d'Abruzzo - Italy)

The 2001 Cantina Zaccagnino Riserva from Italy’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo region is garnet colored with lots of fruit, including strong notes of blueberry and kirsch. Smooth texture with a medium finish.

This is a good everyday wine but not wine to ponder much. I’ve also found it better in the past having had both the 1999 and 2000 vintages.

I discovered this wine as a $20 bottle at Po, an Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village that used to be run by Mario Batali as his first endeavor in New York and is now run by his partner Steve Crane. It’s fantastic and this was one of the best wine values on the list.

The wine is also commonly known as “The Twig Wine” because of the twig wrapped around the neck of the bottle. It can be found at Garnet Wine on 68th and Lexington for $12 and they almost always have it in stock.