At $15, the Château Pesquie Les Terrasses 2006 is a major steal. For starters, this wine has an appealing color, a rich, royal purple. The nose is somewhat restrained, but I caught notes of herbs and spice. What it lacks in aroma, the Terrasses makes up in flavor. Blackberry, cherry, bouquet garnis, coffee, liquorice and roasted nuts all come together in an elegant package. This Rhône blend of 70 percent Grenache and 30 percent Syrah comes from the Côtes du Ventoux region, which has been pumping out consistent value wines for some time.

I used this bottle to test out the new Vinturi wine aerator. I wrote about this nifty little device in my stocking-stuffer column before Christmas, and found several credible reviews that raved about its ability to bring out the aromas and flavors in wine. So I drank a glass of the Terrasses with no Vinturi, wrote the review above, then poured another glass through the wine aerator to compare results. First of all, the Vinturi is just as cool-looking in real life as it is in the product shots. Secondly, when you hold the aerator over your glass and pour the wine through it, it makes this crazy sucking sound that is guaranteed to make you laugh. The result? For this wine, it worked, especially on the aromas, which as I mentioned were subtle on the regular pour, but really jumped out in the Vinturi glass. The palette was also far more pronounced and rounded.

Quaffability Rating: 90