The StoryThe Violet House Central Coast Red Blend 2017 is an $8.99 ALDI exclusive wine. And that is about all I know about this wine, there is no mention on the web and ALDI doesn't say a thing. The back label says this is a non-traditional blend and a 2017 vintage is decent age for an $8.99 Red wine. But I have to admit, I bought this bottle for the label, there are furry antler people coming out of the snow in the woods near a cabin on the lake, along with a violet-colored sky, which is probably where the name came from. It turns out the drawing on the label is from John Kenn Mortensen who has a book of illustrations, Sticky Monsters. It is somewhat odd for a store brand contract wine to have a label created by a noted artist or illustrator since the whole idea behind contract wines is to keep the costs down. I love the label, I thought it would be a great wine for Halloween parties, it's creepy and spooky without being too threatening. I have found that wines that have really good labels have good wine inside the bottle, the theory being if they don't care about what is stuck to the outside of a bottle, they didn't care about what is inside the bottle and vice versa. If that theory works on an $8.99 ALDI wine it might move from wine theory to wine law. The alcohol content is 13.5%.The Tasting NotesThe color is barely see-thru, shiny cherry red. The nose is blackberry, a little chocolate, soft spice, slightly herbal, with a floral edge. This is a medium-bodied red, smooth upfront, slightly rougher on the mid-palate. It tastes of a stew of blackberry, blueberry, and Snickers Chocolate (not sweet), along with sweet spice. The mid-palate offers raspberry, molasses (again not sweet), a salty sensation, and a mix of black pepper and cranberry. I have no idea about what grapes went into this Red blend, but it is good tasting. The finish is soft, not particularly intense, but it does linger.The Summary * Buy it for the label, drink it because it's tasty. * It is way better than the typical Halloween themed wine, though I don't think the Violet House Red Blend is actually intended as solely a Halloween wine. * This is not the same old, same old Red Blend, it is hard to be unique in the value-priced Red category, but the Violet House pulls it off.

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