This week's wine of the week, a 2005 Estate Benessere sangiovese, comes on the recommendation of Dean Cannestra, proprietor of Libiamo, 221 W. Galena St., and is from the family owned Benessere Napa Valley vineyard. This sangiovese is available by the bottle at Libiamo.

With plum and blackberry undertones, this lip-smacking dry and vibrant red is perfect with steaks or a hearty Italian meal, and is comprised of 12 different clones of Sangiovese grown on Benessere's 42-acre estate vineyard.

Benessere is Italian for 'well-being' or 'prosperity,' and the owners, John and Ellen Benish, named the winery to describe their affection for life in the Napa Valley. The winery's mission statement is "to produce the finest small lots of Italian-inspired wines in California."

This sangiovese carries a careful complexity I can only see getting better with age, but it was too good for us to not happily finish off the bottle with dinner.

For more information, visit libiamorestaurant.com or benesserevineyards.com.