The Stormchaser Wild Ride Red 2019 is a $7.99 Aldi exclusive farmed from grapes grown in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington. It seems to be produced for Aldi by the largest privately owned wine company in Washington. I checked the California Wine COLA website for the lister producer. They do not show this wine to be part of their wine portfolio, which would indicate it was made expressly for ALDI.
A quick check of the web showed this value-priced to be very well received by wine reviewers, both professional and amateur. I am not surprised, the Columbia Valley is an excellent place to find affordable Red wine. There are eleven different sub-AVAs inside the Columbia Valley and each growing area brings a little something different to the grapes.
I think of these inexpensive Red Blends and recipe wines, you start with this, add a little of that, a drop of that and pretty soon a talented winemaker has a wine that drinks far better than its parts. Columbia Valley is known for growing ripe, well-farmed grapes.
Columbia Valley Red wines are known to be ripe and fruit-forward, with excellent body and proper acidity. It is a style that appeals to American wine drinkers and the blends are usually not the same as you might find in Europe.
The Stormchaser Wild Ride Red 2019 does not have production notes, the clues are what is noted on the back label. It mentions blackberry jam and subtle oak. So, there may well be Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and maybe some Syrah in the blend. The alcohol content is a reasonable 13%.
The Stormchaser Wild Ride Red 2019 Tasting Notes
The color is a shiny garnet red with black highlights. The nose is lightly smokey, with ripe blackberry, faint green bell pepper, cooking spice, herbs, tomato juice, and black cherry. This is an intriguing nose for a sub ten buck wine. The Stormchaser Wild Ride Red 2019 has a rounded mouth-feel and an interesting display of flavors.
This Red Blend tastes like black cherry, blackberry, tea, exotic spice, raspberry, and bitter chocolate. The mid-palate offers a savory sensation, black pepper, blueberry, and a hint of cream. This is not what I expected from a $7.99 wine. Yes, I know that an $8 Aldi wine is the equivalent to a $12 or $13 retail wine shop wine, but this Red blend does not drink like the typical value-price Red.
The Summary
- The Stormchaser Wild Ride Red 2019 is an easy wine to recommend.
- Most inexpensive Red Blends are variations on a theme and often very good variations, the Stormbringer is unique and delicious.
- If you told your wine geek friends that it was $18 instead of $8, they would believe you.
- This wine may not be for everyone, but it is a huge bargain for the folks that dig this style of Red.
