Argiolas Perrera 2001

[ShortWiner]

I think it was 2001--left my notes at home. In any case, I picked this up out of curiousity and because I've enjoyed other Argiolas wines, namely their Costera Rosso Conero. The bottle says it's 100% Monica, a grape which the Oxford Encyclopedia of Wine says may be related to the California Mission and produces unexciting wines. I was undeterred and opened it with a simple pasta with tomato sauce and broccoli.

I liked it quite a bit. It was very dark, nearly black in the glass. Pleasant aroma of plums and cherry. On the tongue, low acid but rather weighty. A nice touch of Southern Italian funk, like a whiff of toast. A very good value for $9, I'd say. And I enjoyed it all the more for the lame description in the Oxford.

Anyone else have experience with Monica?