Villa Pigna Rozzano

Studying labels in Park'N Shop a week ago, I came face to face with a monster: the big, burly, black-labelled 96 Villa Pigna Rozzano.

The advice of Randy Lee, the astute fellow who selects the supermarket's wines, is to open this at least two hours before drinking.

He is absolutely correct: this wine needs air.

Once it has breathed, it is an elegant, subtle wine with a lovely blackcurrant taste.

It is made from the montepulciano grape which is common in Umbria and Abruzzi.

This is grown, however, on a five-hectare vineyard at Villa Pigna in the Marche region, on the Adriatic coast of Italy.