Besieged: Halloween Wine Part 4
- Raptor Wines
- Oct 31, 2017
- 2 min read
Happy Halloween! We are on part 4 of our Halloween wine series. If this were a horror movie, it would be about the time we end up fighting a scary killer or monster (or Sharknado) in outer space. Thankfully we are still talking about wine! Speaking of which, let's talk about 2013 Besieged. Like Apothic Inferno, it is a limited release red blend from California (Sonoma). There are so many scary movies about people being besieged by various things (zombies, birds, sharks, bugs, aliens, mist, blobs, teenagers...you get the idea), it seemed appropriate. In addition, after spending part of the weekend at a popular, but seriously freaky haunted house, I know how it feels to be besieged!
Besieged is a product of Ravenswood Winery and Joel Peterson. You may be familiar with Ravenswood Zinfandel. Today's wine is a blend of seven varietals. Yes I said seven! The blend includes Petite Syrah (France), Carignane (Spain), Zinfandel (Croatia but made popular in California), Syrah (France), Barbera (Italy), Alicante Bouschet (France), and Mourvedre (Spain). As you might imagine given the variety in just the country of origin alone (listed next to the grape name), some of the grapes included in this blend are very different and are not often paired together. However, the result is a nice wine. Dark, almost inky red in color, it presents with a fruity nose of plumb, cherry, raspberry, and blueberry. This is a big wine, but not overly acidic or with excessive tannins. The tannins are there, but are not what I expected given some of the grapes in the blend. The taste is pleasantly dark berry with touch of spice (nutmeg or cardamom). The spices made me think of Fall and pumpkin bread. I love pumpkin bread. In fact, I may have to bake some later. Getting back to the wine, there is a touch of tartness which resolves with some time in the glass. With a bit of aeration, this wine becomes a smooth, berry filled, baking spicy red blend. With a price tag of around $17, this is a nice bottle of wine to enjoy while all the creepy crawlies, ghouls, and ghosts prowl around outside on Halloween!
