19 Crimes – 2015 Red Wine

19 Crimes out of Australia came up with a fun concept to sell wine.  The brand name refers to the 19 Crimes that were punishable by “Transportation” – a punishment of banishment.  The convicts were placed on a ship in England and later dropped off in Australia.  The corks of these bottles each have one of the nineteen crimes listed.  Trying to find all nineteen is a challenge.

The bottle looks like a decoration for Halloween.  It’s a dark and frosted with a picture of an actual prisoner on it.  Yes, they use copies of images of real convicted men.  It’s sepia coloring adds to the creepiness. 

I love creepy.  I’m thinking about what kind of themed dinner party I can have to serve this wine even before I open it.  I hope it’s taste is worthwhile enough for a dinner.

Ruby in color, the wine has a peppery nose filled with spiciness.  The spice coming through is from Shiraz, the dominate grape used in the blend.

Flavors in this wine are sweeter than I expected from the nose.  There’s an immediate blueberry flavor followed by other heavy berries.  But after that, I’m noticing the spiciness that I smelled on the nose.  Cinnamon and ginger make me think about holiday wines.

And it’s a warming wine, too, similar to a port without the increased alcohol content.  The spice at the finish begs for changing leaves and cold nights.

Overall, not a bad wine.  You can find it on sale for around $8 per bottle, which is about what you should pay for it.  Save them up for October and serve at your next Halloween party.  The labels will fit almost any creepy holiday theme.

Pair 19 Crimes Red Blend with chocolate, especially a dark chocolate.  The sweet/spicy of the wine will balance the dark chocolate and make your taste buds really happy.