Weekly Winedown #41 Colpasso Primitivo

Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you and offer a review.
Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro.

The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy.

Forgive me for I have sinned, It’s been three whole weeks since my last winedown.

THAT’S how bad the English wine was!
Even thinking about it now makes me shudder.

For reasons unknown, I’ve barely consumed any wine over the last few weeks.
My allegiance seems to have changed to gin, saying that I DID share a rather nice bottle of Zinfandel with a friend last Friday and it looks like my wine passion has been reignited!
That and the fact I stacked it on the school run today which means it’s a need wine kind of a day.

After weeks of lousy weather, we have a heat wave coming (allegedly), this teamed with the fact we are going away in a month makes me VERY happy and so sent me to Italy for my wine choice today.

Let us say Ciao Bella to Colpasso Primitivo, an Italian red from the Puglia.
Sounds exciting right?

Let’s see!

The Label

I like the label, it’s cheery. It’s like the floor tiles you get in a Mediterranean villa or tavern type place.
You know the lovely, rustic little local places owned by very old, very Italian people. Like I’ve seen on the TV.
It’s a very attractive label, it’s creating a summer vibe and I’m sucking it up!

The Blurb

Primitivo has been grown in the region of Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, for hundreds of years. Colpasso Primitivo is the perfect combination of local tradition and modern wine-making, being robust at the same time as smooth and silky. Rich in fruit with a certain “savoury” feel, Colpasso Primitivo has an abundance of ripe, dark berry flavours and is the perfect accompaniment to rich, meaty pasta dishes. 

Well, that sounds busy doesn’t it?
Old and new, strong and smooth, fruit and savoury…it’s certainly hedging it’s bets.

Let’s see if it is the glass of sunshine I’m hoping for!

Hmm, so, when I pour it looks thin.
A trait of an insipid wine.
With an aroma of warm rubber and sweet fruit, it’s not the most appetising smell, especially as this has to go in my mouth.
The taste is certainly smooth, I was expecting something a little more full bodied with a hint of spice maybe. It was more dark fruits and a little bitter.
Using the benchmark set by the English wine THIS IS AMAZING.
Using other wines as a benchmark, maybe not quite so.
It’s inoffensive, not worth shouting about.
If you want to spend £7.99 on wine, I’d suggest going to Aldi and buying their premium/prestige Zinfandel.

I have popped the rest of this bottle in the fridge as I think chilled, it will lose some of that bitter edge and become a decent vin.

Name – The Colpasso Primitivo
Price – £7.49
Colour – A light red
Smell – warm and rubbery
Taste – Dark berries but bitter
Goes well with – Hopefully a big fat curry
Overall score – 3/5 – painfully average.