Castellani ‘Grifone’ Primitivo 2011

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The ladies favorite show “The Bachelor” is winding down and I’m told next week is the three-hour finale.  I wonder what they will watch for their get together’s until the next season of The Bachelorette starts early summer?

It’s always fun to see what Eileen brings for wine.  In the past, she has brought a few pretty good wines all under $20.00.  This week she brought a bottle of 2011 Castellani ‘Grifone’ Primitivo.  Eileen tells me she has had this wine in the past and enjoyed it and what originally caught her eye was the label.  So, any wine marketing people out there make sure you have a label that will entice wine buyers.  Many of my friends do buy based on “just” the label.IMG_0869If you are not familiar with Primitivo it is the Italian version of the American Zinfandel.

I enjoy pulling the cork and pouring the girls a glass of wine before I head to my room to watch my own shows.  Eileen suggested I too have a glass and as soon as I started smelling the Primitivo I noted spice.  She was intrigued by this and after I mentioned it she too noticed it.

It was show time, so I grabbed a tasting sheet and my glass of wine and headed to the bedroom.  There was a new show on the History channel called “Vikings” that I wanted to watch.

Sight
The color depth was medium, with a Ruby to Garnet color hue.  The Primitivo was very clear in my glass.

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Smell
As I mentioned early spice and dark fruit.  The aroma was moderate and young.

Taste
The wine was dry, medium bodied and it was a little tart.  I have noticed this with many Italian wines.  The tannins were weak but soft and the flavor intensity was just “OK”, but nothing really jumped out.   I noted flavors of spice and black cherry and black current.  Smelling the wine I felt it was time to pull out my Wine sensory kit for a refresher.  The finish was not long.

abv: 13%

I rated the  Castellani ‘Grifone’ Primitivo  two glasses and I would prefer to drink the Primitivo with food.

One thing to note is that this is a very inexpensive wine, so for the price, I could rate an additional glass.

Life is too short to drink crappy wine.  Expand your palate and keep trying.

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