This winter, Australian winery 19 Crimes will add two new wines to their lineup: The Banished Dark Red (SRP: $11.99 per 750-ml. bottle) and the higher-end offering, The Warden (SRP: $24.99 per 750-ml. bottle).
These two new wines “add another dark chapter to the 19 Crimes saga, telling the story of British criminals who turned colonists and forged a new life in Australia,” the company says.
In 18th century Britain, those convicted of one of the 19 crimes were banished, and forced to serve out their punishments on the island of Australia. An ode to the prisoners who made it to shore after the passage from Britain, The Banished is a tribute to one prisoner, James McNally Wilson, who, in 1866 was court marshaled for desertion and mutinous conduct and placed upon the last convict ship to make the voyage to Australia, the company says, where he was one of few to successfully escape from a life of servitude. The Shiraz-blend has notes of dark chocolate and vanilla aromatics, the company says, with dark forest fruits complimented by notes of cloves and cinnamon spice.
The Warden celebrates the men and women that maintained order within the colony of cunning convicts, the company says. The Shiraz-based blend has notes of dark cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, chocolate, mocha and lifted vanilla bean. Its bottle design and prisoner’s-eye-view of the warden through a cell’s peep-hole are meant to intrigue consumers.
Both wines are available nationally as of this month.
