Drinking Like Common People - Part Two - The Reds

Why do I do this to myself? The curiosity doesn´t kill the cat, it kills my stomach...
In part one I tasted the Whites, now it was time for the Reds. Please God, don´t hurt me now...

The lay up of the tasting is that I have taken the 10 most sold white and red wines of 2014, bought the ones that are sold in regular bottles or, sadly, in plastic containers, but omitted the ones that only are sold in bag-in-box (3 liters) - there are some limits to how much wine I will pour down the drain...

Here they are in backward order from number ten.

2014 The Big Zin, ViniMundi
It doesn´t start well... This Italian wine with its American name has 12 gram sugar per liter and it shows. The nose is big and sweet with notes of jam, toast, dry asphalt and vanilla. Even though it is big it is hollow behind the sweetness.
The taste is big, foursquare and sweet with jammy black fruit (?) and a feeling of lots of alcohol even though the label says 13,5%. The finish is like chewing on blotting paper. Number 10 on the list and 2.468.652 bottles sold in 2014 and I ask myself, why?
60p   (tasted 2016/01)

2015 Ecologica Shiraz Malbec Reserve, La Riojana
Thankfully it got better, much better, in fact the best wine in the line up. This Argentinian has a light, peppery nose with notes of red berries, liquorice, bakelite and some road dust. A good sweetness to the fruit. Good.
The taste is young, dry and tight with notes of red currants, white pepper, tobacco and road dust. The finish is rather short but this is drinking fine. Good. 2.538.255 bottles sold of this number 9 and the only one I would buy personally.
82p   (tasted 2016/01)

2014 Mauro Primitivo Albarello, Nordic Sea Winery
Why? Why make this disaster? This, and the Palazzo below, is blended and bottled in Sweden, at Nordic Sea Winery´s "winery". 2.565.992 bottles of this crap was sold during 2014. Why? The nose has nothing to do with wine with its notes of plastic, burnt rubber, syntetic raspberries and saw dust. Gets you interested, right? Wait until you taste it...
The taste is a manipulated concoction of unripe grapes, lots of acidity, plastic and oak chips. The finish is medium long and really nasty. It differs 80 cent (0,8 Euro) between this and the real wine above, are people mad?? Number 8 on the list.
54p   (tasted 2016/01)

2014 Graticcio Appassionato, Tommasi
Number 6 on the list, with 2.640.360 bottles sold, isn´t that bad. The nose is medium deep with some raisins, forest and chocolate notes. A good dryness to it. Some warm rosehips after a while. Good.
The taste is tight, dry and warm with notes of raisins, dried red fruits, gravel and warm herbs. It is a bit too dry in the end of the finish, but with food it works decent enough.
76p   (tasted 2016/01)

2014 Palazzi Mio Rosso, Nordic Sea Winery
This abomination is the cheapest wine on the list. That doesn´t however forgive this sorry excuse for a wine. The nose has some interesting aromas of cheap raspberry ice cream, manufactured vanilla, saw dust and rotten tobacco. It is just absurd in its awfulness.
The taste, and mind you, it took some courage to put this in my mouth, is even worse than the Mauro above, with chemicals, artifical acidity, dry tannins and not a fruit in sight. The finish is medium long, sorry to say. The cretins responsible for this mess should change jobs to garbage management, judging from these wines, that should be more up their alley. Number 4 on the list with 3.171.670 bottles sold - I have lost hope in mankind.
52p   (tasted 2016/01)

2014 Appassimento Edizione Oro, Casa Viniroria
Number 2 on the list with 4.204.690 bottles sold. What is it with the Swedes and sugar? This has 11 gr/liter. But this handles it better than the Big Zin above. The nose is big and broad and sweet with notes of ripe plums, liquorice, warm summer flowers and herbs. It actually smells from time to time like a hot day in Italy, and that can´t be bad!
The taste is big and juicy with notes of plums, pipe tobacco, dark chocolate and warm herbs. The finish is medium long and edging on fiery. For the style, and with a big chargrilled steak, this is drinkable, but on its own it gets tiresome fast. Not bad though.
78p   (tasted 2016/01)