2018 San Marzano Primitivo, Puglia, Italy (Alcohol 13.5%, Residual Sugar 14g/L) LCBO General List $8.45 (750ml bottle)
Having caused quite the stir with their $7.95 $8.15 Toro Bravo a few years back, it appears that Dionysus Wines & Spirits have found another bargain-priced red that fits right in with current guarded spending habits throughout this time of pandemic.
$8.45 a bottle is coasting pretty damn close to the least that can legally charged for a 750ml bottle of wine in Ontario ($8.15), so upon tasting this I wasn’t expecting too much, but I’ll admit that I was rather taken by surprise… this is an thoroughly enjoyable bottle of simple, uncomplicated wine that delivers much more than its modest price point would have one imagine.
Don’t be expecting multilayered complexities here; this is all about lovely, straightforward, über-ripe dark berry fruits with hints of cocoa powder and peppery spice. On the palate it is medium to full-bodied, with an attractive juiciness that makes you reach for another glass. It’s remarkably smooth with well-managed, soft, Zinfandel-like moderate tannins buried low in the mix.
It’s quite delightful to guzzle imbibe on its own, but is also smashing with autumnal grilled meats. I’d suggest you should grab a case and keep it as your house wine as you sit and watch the fall of the leaves… well, that’s what I’m doing anyway!
(Three and a half apples out of a possible five)
San Marzano are represented in Ontario by Dionysus Wines and Spirits.
Dionysus Wines and Spirits are a Good Food Fighter.
Please support the businesses and organisations that support Good Food Revolution.
Edinburgh-born/Toronto-based Sommelier, consultant, writer, judge, and educator Jamie Drummond is the Director of Programs/Editor of Good Food Revolution… And that’s a steal.
Stumbled on this. Wonderful surprise – both on price and on taste. In the cheap red ranges, there tends to be offerings that have advertised “oaky” richness…and “multi layered finishes”….but the actual red wine is…thin, with a thin-sour in taste. Not much body. So you end up with “oaky, well finished”….thin red wine. In general, the “primitivo” selections at the LCBO are worth testing out. They are what a robust, full cheap table wine used to taste like, before all the other trendy grape variety names started to push out cheaper bottlings.
I think you’re onto something.Big reds (and whites) that are not shy on the oak are coming back. Or maybe they never went away.