This red wine from Saladini Pilastri offers a robust and dense fruit profile, making it more of a meat wine than a pasta wine. The 2015 Pregio del Conte is a blend of equal parts Aglianico and Montepulciano (aged in French Allier barrique for a slow 24 months). It benefits from some of the northernmost Aglianico farmed in Italy, and this already-tannic grape offers pronounced firmness and backbone in this expression from warm-climate Marche. That's why you need a hearty meat dish on the table across from a glass of this wine. There is a point of astringency here, and succulent meat would soften it. Some 15,000 bottles were made.

The 2011 Pregio del Conte opens to a dark and impenetrable appearance. The aromas here are very heavy and thickly concentrated with dark fruit, prune, blackberry and barbecue smoke. The blend is 50/50 Montepulciano and Aglianico - two blockbuster red grapes from Central and Southern Italy. The finish is slightly sweet and very enriched.

An unusual blend of 50% Montepulciano and 50% Aglianico, the 2010 Pregio del Conte is also the sweetest and richest of these 2010s from Saladini Pilastri. Blackberry jam, crushed rocks, grilled herbs, spices and leather flow from a large-scaled, opulent wine frame. The 2010 should hit the early part of its drinking window over the next year and continue to drink well for the better part of this decade. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2020. Saladini Pilastri excels with a broad range of value-priced wines that are loaded with character and personality. Importer: Michelangelo Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 699-7021

The 2009 Pregio del Conte is another muscular, powerful wine. It possesses plenty of mid palate stuffing and density in its rich, round fruit. It is the most intense of these 2009 reds, and also the wine with the best integration of oak. Pregio del Conte is an unusual blend of 50% Aglianico and 50% Montepulciano that spends two years in oak, but it certainly works here. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. Saladini Pilastri makes a wide range of delicious, value-priced wines. The reds in particular are worth note even if the 2009s aren't among the very finest wines I had had from the estate.Importers: Michelangelo Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 699-7021

The 2008 Pregio del Conte, a blend of Montepulciano and Aglianico, is an interesting wine. Red cherries, licorice, roses and sweet spices are some of the notes that emerge from this round, harmonious offering. Today it comes across as somewhat monolithic, with limited complexity. Still, there is more than enough depth and nuance to make me think it will continue to drink well for a number of years once the firm tannins soften a touch. Ultimately, these are relatively small critiques at this price point. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2020. Saladini Pilastri makes a wide range of wines, but readers are best served focusing on the reds. Incredibly, all of those wines can be had for under $25 a bottle.Importers: The Charmer Sunbelt Group, NY, NY; tel. (212) 699-7021