Weekly Winedown #24 19 Crimes Red Wine

Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you and offer a review.
Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro.

The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy.

OH WHAT A WEEK!

To follow on from the phone down the toilet and rubbish replacement debacle, my home internet died.

I was without the internet for four days. FOUR DAYS.

I had a phone that would barely muster more energy that 2g, a handful of data and a poorly toddler.

It was a tough time.

Imagine, not being able to Google anything!
More pertinently, imagine having a poorly child and not being able to access YouTube??

The internet is back now, I now have one of them fancy iPhone things and order is restored.
I made it through the wilderness.
Somehow I made it through.

I’m OK.

This week’s wine was chosen for me by my Aunt and cousin, they have a knack of spying a good label.
It must be a family thing.

So let’s say ‘Ow ya goin’ mate’ to 19 Crimes Red wine. £6.50-£10 a bottle.

I had never heard of 19 Crimes so I had a little look online and was sucked in right away.

“The men on our labels are not those of fiction. They were flesh and blood. Criminals and scholars. In history, they share a bond receiving “punishment by transportation.” It could have shattered their spirits. It didn’t. Today, we toast those men and the principles they lived by.”

The website is immersive, with videos to watch, apps to download and tales to read.
It’s not just a wine it’s a story and rather than just tell you about it, I’d strongly recommend you visit their website here.

The Label

Made to look like one of those old, slightly yellowed WANTED posters, it includes an image of John Boyle O’Reilly who was transported to Australia in 1867. I absolutely love this label. The bottle is also worth noting, it’s like a kind of frosted glass. The whole produce has an air of ‘age’ about it.

The Blurb

“Nineteen crimes turned criminals into colonists. Upon conviction, British rogues, guilty of at least one of the 19 crimes, were sentenced to live in Austrlia, rather than death. This punishment by “transportation” began in 1788, and many of the lawless died at sea. For the rough-hewn prisoners who made it to shore, a new world awaited.
As pioneers in a frontier penal colony, they forged a new country and new lives, brick by brick.
This wine celebrates the rules they broke and the culture they built”

Although the blurb gives nothing away to the contents of the bottle it certainly sets a scene.
I am expecting something heavy and bold. Something full bodied and full of flavour.
Or Moonshine.

The scent is soft and subtle, like warm spices.

It’s a really smooth wine with big flavour. Vanilla, blackcurrants and blackberries. The finish is almost liquorice in taste. It’s a very drinkable and very impressive blend.
I was sucked in by the marketing and won over by the taste, this is a brand that is working.
I am going to look out for again and I’m probably going to get a case for Christmas.
Wine and education, always a win.

Name – 19 Crimes Red Wine
Price – £6.50 – £10
Colour – Deep, dark red.
Smell – Subtle and spicy.
Taste – Smooth, and bold. Vanilla and dark fruits with a liquorice finish.
Goes well with – A bit of a history lesson.
Overall score- 4.5/5