Luna di Luna Merlot/Cabernet 2009

There's something about me that objects to pouring wine from brightly colored, enameled bottles, so that I would have chosen to decant this, but my CDC said she thought the bottle was cute, so there you are. Anyway, this Italian blend from the Veneto, 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet, took me by surprise. Allowed to breathe for an hour, it produced an eminently civilized mixture of dark fruit flavors, with not even a hint of the archtypical unpleasant Merlot aftertaste. At the closeout price of $5.99 it's a steal.