The Colossal Reserva Red 2015 is a blend of 30% Touriga Nacional (probably the #1 Red grape of Portugal), 30% Syrah, 30% Tinta Roriz (known as Tempranillo in Spain), and 10% Alicante Bouschet sourced from Casa Santos Lima estate vineyards in the Lisboa wine region of Portugal. The Colossal Reserva is something of a rare wine, it received 90 points for the 2015 vintage (91 for the 2014 vintage) from Wine Spectator and made #60 on their Top 100 wines of 2017 list and it sells for, wait for it, 8 bucks (Costco, a maybe other places, I found it in Chicago at a non Costco shop)). So take that people who think wines under $10 are undrinkable, there are plenty of $50+ wines with lesser credentials. Now, 90 points and a place on lofty lists does not mean that you will love a wine, that’s completely subjective on your part, but those accolades do infer a certain level of quality in the grapes and the production methods. While I suspect that this wine was made with the export market in mind, you have to remember that Portuguese winemakers really don’t follow wine trends, they do things the Portuguese way. Most of their wines are a combination of the old ways, the technology of the new ways, and the ways they always have done it. If you have not experienced the wines of Portugal this 8 buck offering sounds like a great place to start. This wine was aged in French and American oak for 8 months and the alcohol content is 14%.
The color is seriously dark, it has as many black highlights as red highlights. The nose is dark berries, baking spices, chocolate powder, a little bacon fat, violets, and black pepper. This is a medium plus bodied wine, bold, but balanced with solid real structure, it actually has tannins you can experience (many modern wines have the tannins downplayed). It starts with sleek blackberry, licorice, dusty bitter dark chocolate, and a little sweet blueberry. The mid-palate shows, both black pepper and exotic spice, plum, and orange rind. The acidity is balanced, this will pair with most meals that can use a Red wine with some heft to it and the tannins have their place, but do not bite. The finish is full and long.
The Colossal Reserva Red 2015 very, very good $8 wine, usually when a $8 wine rocks it’s a negociant wine, meaning it was originally produced at a much higher price and someone came along and purchased what was leftover at a greatly reduced price and passed the savings to the consumer. In that context this inexpensive tasty Red wine is a revelation. It does not have the depth or the expansive mouthfeel of some of the elite Red wines, but it will give many more expensive wines a run for their money.
