Wine of the week: Francis Coppola 2007 Black Label Claret

Don't worry about seeming pretentious. After you've poured this week's wine, do yourself a big favor by sticking your nose in the glass and inhaling. Then do it again before taking your first sip. The Francis Coppola 2007 Black Label Claret (about $18 at supermarkets and big-box stores) will reward your effort with a heady aroma compounded of chocolate and blackberry with a subtle but resonant licorice bass note.

We always think of an Edwardian dining hall in an English country house when we hear the word claret, but that notion is as outdated as detachable shirt collars. Although produced in Bordeaux, a blend of red and white "clear" wines that sometimes turned out a tad yellowish in the bottle, it was a product mostly for export and mostly to the opposite side of the English Channel. The good stuff was a deep red in the wine's heyday, which passed some time ago. Now it is in a sort of mini revival in California.

One of the standouts of the new breed of claret is Coppola's classic Bordeaux blend, employing cabernet sauvignon grapes in the lead, abetted by petit verdot, merlot, malbec and cabernet franc. This blend produces that heavenly nose in a deep red wine that opens on the palate with loads of juicy dark fruit, especially ripe black cherry and blackberry. But don't confuse juicy with sweet. It is very round and luscious on the palate but finishes long and complex with a marked asperity.

What to eat with this curvaceous wine? We suggest either a classic rack of lamb in a crunchy mustard-bread crumb crust, or go "native" and pair it with a nice roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

By Colette and John Bancroft. She is the Times' book editor, and he is a freelance writer specializing in food, wine and travel.