Italo Cescon, Cabernet 37.5cl

This is the kind of Italian Cabernet you pour when you want your red wine to show up with some backbone. Dark fruit, a little savoury edge, and tannins that make food taste better. It’s confident, dry, and properly “red wine” in the best way.

• Appearance: Deep ruby with a darker core, the kind of colour that hints you’re in for something bold.
• Nose: Blackcurrant, dark cherry, a touch of cedar, plus a subtle dried-herb note that keeps it interesting.
• Taste: Ripe dark berries and plum, then a gentle espresso, cocoa vibe as it opens up. Dry, with firm tannins that give it shape.
• Acidity, tannins, sweetness, alcohol: Dry overall, with food-friendly acidity and grippy tannins that feel more “structured” than “soft.”
• Body: Medium-to-full, so it doesn’t disappear next to big flavours.
• Finish: Lingering dark fruit and a faint savoury, woody note that sticks around just long enough to make you want another sip.

If you’re a Cabernet person, you’ll love how this brings that classic blackcurrant-and-structure combo, but with an Italian twist, a little more herbal, a little more dinner-table energy. It’s a solid pick for anything with char, tomato, or richness, because the tannins grab onto fat and the acidity cuts through heavy bites. Translation, your food tastes better, and the wine tastes better too.

It also works when you’re not in the mood to overthink it. Pour, chat, eat, repeat. You get layers as it sits in the glass, fruit first, then the savoury notes, then that cocoa-cedar finish, without needing to “study” it.

One more thing, Cabernet can feel one-note when it’s all fruit and no frame. Here, the structure is the point. That firmness is what makes it feel serious enough for a proper meal, but still easy to enjoy on a random Tuesday.

Fun Fact: Italo Cescon is known for leaning into clean, expressive wines that keep the grape front and centre, letting the variety do the talking instead of burying it in tricks.