Agree with what everybody says, and I love it! Everything is BIG...fruit, tannin. acidity, alcohol, but the balance is wonderful. Definitely a wine if Malbec or Syrah would be too 'wimpy' for the occasion. A big bruiser of a red.

The 2009 D'angelo Aglianico Del Vulture is a medium bodied, integrated wine, with appealing aromas of vanilla, anise, pomegranate on the nose and strawberry and vanilla on the palate. It is tannic (decant for 30-60 min) and has a medium to long finish. This wine will benefit from cellaring - drink 2014-2022, it is food friendly (salty meaty foods) and a sipper (for tannin lovers). My impression: BEAUTIFUL, 89-90 pts - recommended buy just to try what the Aglianico grape has to offer. Tasted Oct/12.

See my wine recommendations readily available at the LCBO here:

http://grapeselections.com

or here @
http://www.winealign.com/wino/dantrcka/recommended-wines-you-can-still-buy

first note - decant for an hour...okay now classic notes appear... spicy cherry, barn yard, earth, tobacco, charcoal, wet wood and vanilla must... and a hint of citrus (orange peel?) . Palate is smooth but dry...offers loads of pipe tobacco. A tad thin, but that's normal for this varietal. Classic and respectable.

Deep ruby with a hint of garnet and some sediment. Developing a nose of dried fruit, predominantly black cherries. There’s an old world style note of earth which adds to the character. The palate is medium-full bodied and one can expect dried fig, smoke, and savoury spices. A lengthy finish. There is plenty of acidity and gripping tannin in the structure so, be sure to either decant or wait a few years for the wine to improve. Great value. Oct 2012.

This is definitely a "food" wine. It doesn't do well as just a sipper. It also got better as the night went on, so I'd recommend decanting and letting it breathe for an hour before serving. Aromas and tastes mainly of plum and cherry, with some earthy/meaty notes as well. Don't let the "lightly raisined" descriptions fool you. It may have the flavours of raisins/dried fruit, but it's not thick and powerful like an Amarone. It's more on the elegant/rustic side. Medium bodied with palate cleansing acidity that makes it a lot better with food. For $17, this is not bad, but not great.

Don't even think about drinking this as a cocktail wine. The tannins and acid are both dialed to eleven. This is a brash, rustic red that's lacking in finesse.