It’s only September and I’m already seeing Christmas junk on display in stores. Have they forgotten about Halloween? It’s one of my favorite holidays, although I haven’t taken the time to celebrate it much in the past few years. Plus a lot folks say that I’m too old for Halloween.
I think Halloween should be celebrated by all ages. And a number of wine producers appear to agree with me and have been creating special wines to celebrate Halloween. Really, what’s a better beverage to have on Halloween than some blood red wine?
Besieged from Ravenswood is one such special release for Halloween. What’s funny is that I probably would have included Ravenswood on my Halloween wine list even without a special release.
This wine is a blend of petite sirah, carignane, zinfandel, syrah, barbera, alicante bouschet and mourvèdre. I like that they chose some wines with exotic, mysterious sounding names.
This wine is a little more purple than “blood red” as I had hoped, but it’s still a beautiful color. The aromas are dark and mysterious, offering intense cherry, blackberry, plum, leather and exotic spices. It’s a bold wine on the palate, bringing rich wild cherry, blackberry, plum, coffee and a brooding, earthy bitterness to offer a counterpoint to the fruit. That bitterness may be disturbing to some. It finishes with lingering spice flavors that heighten your senses. This is not a polite wine. It’s dark, bold and challenging. Yet it’s enticing. It seems appropriate for Halloween.
Do you dare try it?
Wine: Ravenswood Besieged
Variety: Petite sirah, carignane, zinfandel, syrah, barbera, alicante bouschet and mourvèdre
Vintage: 2013
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $16.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.
Find Ravenswood Besieged with Snooth
Amazing wine for the price. Tried one bottle, went back for a case.