Black Cherry

From: Rioja, Spain Price: $13 Serve with: Grilled red meat, pasta dishes Spain's magnificent Rioja region continues to produce some of the world's finest values in red wine, and this gem imported by Kysela Pere & Fils is a splendid example. It's smooth, ripe and complex far beyond its price tag. While medium-bodied and accessible now, these well-made Rioja's have great aging potential, and this wine could be even better in five to 10 years. It offers vibrant flavors of vanilla, black cherry, Asian spices and Mediterranean herbs.

From: Rioja, Spain Price: $13 Serve with: Grilled red meat, pasta dishes Spain's magnificent Rioja region continues to produce some of the world's finest values in red wine, and this gem imported by Kysela Pere & Fils is a splendid example. It's smooth, ripe and complex far beyond its price tag. While medium-bodied and accessible now, these well-made Rioja's have great aging potential, and this wine could be even better in five to 10 years. It offers vibrant flavors of vanilla, black cherry, Asian spices and Mediterranean herbs.

From: California Price: $9 Serve with: Hamburgers, pizza, simple stuff This red wine from the budget Rosso & Bianco (red and white) line from the winery founded by director Francis Ford Coppola is simply a good value. Billed as "a wine for everyday life," it lives up to that promise. It's not complex or elegant, but drinking a wine like this every day would not be a bad life to live. It's simple, fruity, medium- to full-bodied and offers winning black cherry and herbal flavors.

From: Monterey, Calif. Price: $23 Serve with: Red meat, roast poultry, tuna steak Thus full-bodied, earthy red wine combines some of the best elements of Burgundian style and California ripeness. It's an earthy wine, with some of the gamy low notes that distinguish fine Burgundies, while the black cherry and cassis notes are bold up front. While it's a lush, opulent wine, it's also well-balanced and complex, with good acidity in the finish and no trace of alcoholic heat. It's a versatile wine that will pair with many foods and comparable to pinot noirs at twice the price.

This lush, ripe, smooth red wine from the Beaujolais region of France offers a penetrating mix of black cherry, blackberry, raspberry and herb flavors. This versatile and lively Brouilly can be served lightly chilled and needs no further aging. Serve with roast turkey, chicken, beef.

So it's not particularly complex? This delightful Chianti has intense, ripe, black cherry and herb flavors, medium body and a long, lively finish. What more can you ask for? Bring on the pasta.Pub date: 4/03/96

This medium-bodied wine has heavyweight intensity in its pure pinot noir character -- black cherry and herbs. It's not a blockbuster pinot noir, but it's faithful to the idea of fine Burgundy, and it's a fine choice to serve with roast chicken or turkey.

The Jean Descombes estate regularly produces one of Duboeuf's finest Beaujolais wines. With its black cherry and raspberry flavors, it achieves a completeness and layered complexity that is rare in Beaujolais. This wine, coming in an excellent year for the region, is the quintessence of its genre.Pub Date: 12/01/96

1998 Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone ($11). This meaty, chunky red wine from the south of France isn't designed to be cellared for years or studied to death. It's just a delight for uncomplicated drinking with hamburgers or pizza right now. A medium-bodied red, it offers flavors of black cherry, black currant, herbs and leather.

These Tuscan red wines, purchased in Maryland stores for less than $20, were tasted in recent weeks. They are listed, along with the name of the importer, in rough order of preference.Excellent* 1990 Podere Il Poggiolo Rosso di Montalcino (Marc de Grazia selection, $15.99). A sensational wine, not huge in body but with an elegant, piercing purity of flavor. Lovely now, but three to five years of aging should bring the intense black cherry and herb flavors even more tightly into focus.1990 Cru Montetondo Chianti Classico (Marc di Grazia Selections, $12)

From: California Price: $9 Serve with: Hamburgers, pizza, simple stuff This red wine from the budget Rosso & Bianco (red and white) line from the winery founded by director Francis Ford Coppola is simply a good value. Billed as "a wine for everyday life," it lives up to that promise. It's not complex or elegant, but drinking a wine like this every day would not be a bad life to live. It's simple, fruity, medium- to full-bodied and offers winning black cherry and herbal flavors.

2009 Ferrari-Carano Tresor From: Sonoma County, Calif. Price: $50 Serve with: Prime rib, rack of lamb Yes, it's expensive, but if you are looking for a special-occasion red wine that you can drink with pleasure now, this is a fine choice. It's a Bordeaux-style blend of exceptional elegance and style. It's complex and rounded, with flavors of black cherry, blackberry, vanilla and chocolate. It's structured to age well but there's really no need to wait. -- Michael Dresser

2005 Souverain Merlot From: Alexander Valley, Calif. Price: $19 Serve with: Red meat, roast chicken, game birds Many California merlots seem to have no reason to exist because they are so similar - though usually less satisfying - to the same producer's cabernet sauvignon. Souverain's merlot is smooth and creamy, well-differentiated from cabernet. There are real echoes of Bordeaux's Pomerol region in its lush flavors and its "steel fist in a velvet glove" texture. The black cherry and plum fruit is seasoned with Asian spice flavors such as clove, cinnamon and nutmeg, with a touch of vanilla.

This lush, ripe, smooth red wine from the Beaujolais region of France offers a penetrating mix of black cherry, blackberry, raspberry and herb flavors. This versatile and lively Brouilly can be served lightly chilled and needs no further aging. Serve with roast turkey, chicken, beef.

This medium- to full-bodied unfiltered red wine from Tuscany, Italy, is bursting with life and character. It is elegantly structured and lingers on the palate with flavors of black cherry and herbs. The 40 percent cabernet in the blend gives it heft, while the 60 percent sangiovese adds an aromatic quality. Serve with Italian sausage, pasta dishes.

ART REIGNS First it sweltered, then it poured, but the weather seemed hardly to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowds that descended on Artscape, Baltimore's 25th annual outdoor festival of the arts. From funnel cakes to evening concerts there was much that was familiar along the Mount Royal Avenue corridor and elsewhere around the city - but there also were new touches including the 100-foot-tall Ferris wheel in front of the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and the fireworks on Friday's opening night.

This lovely, flavorful, medium-bodied nonvintage red is obviously declassified Barolo, probably from the difficult 1991 and 1992 vintages. Clerico has done its best with what nature gave it, fashioning a delicious wine for early consumption. The black cherry, blackberry and earth flavors have Barolo intensity but without the tannin or body weight. A Marc de Grazia selection, it is perfect for finer Italian restaurants. Drink over the next two years.

2003 Waterbrook Melange, Columbia Valley ($16). This harmonious red blend from Washington state combines cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese, merlot and cabernet franc. The result is a medium- to full-bodied wine with excellent grip and length. Flavors include blackberry, black cherry, chocolate and herbs. While this is accessible now, it has the structure to develop for the next three to five years - at least. It would go well with a wide range of red meat and pasta dishes. - Michael Dresser

This wine is a bit of a splurge, but it is well worth it for admirers of classic Napa Valley cabernet. Joseph Phelps has been producing great cabernet for three decades, and I've been around long enough to taste most vintages. This one is as fine as any young Phelps cab I've tasted - and that's saying a lot. It's about the perfect combination of youthful accessibility and long-term aging potential. The texture is velvety, and the flavors are typical Napa - black cherry, black currant, chocolate, herbs - but with just a little more nuance and roundness than most of its peers.