Non alcoholic red wines are very tricky to do. Luckily Neil McGuigan was IWSC Winemaker of the Year-2009/11/12/16 & IWC White Winemaker of the Year-2009/12/13/19. Does he have the skills to produce a great non alcoholic red wine?
Nutrition
Alcohol – 0.0%
Calories – 29kcal per 100ml
Carbohydrates – 7g per 100ml
Sugar – 4.5g per 100ml
This is quite a high sugar content for a red wine. Im sure it will help give body and flavour but it is worth nothing non the less.
The Look
Dark cherry in colour and nicely clear. No natural cloudy wine here.
The Aroma
It smells like wine which is a good start. There is strong blackcurrant aroma.
The Taste
There is a very slight fizz on the palate, mildly disconcerting at the start but actually quite nice
It tastes a lot more like a wine than say the Pierre Chavin reds i reviewed here.
You get quite a bit of red fruit and plum. There is also a hint at that Shiraz spice just so you could pick out the grape. This is usually essential in a shiraz, especially a big Aussie one.
It’s actually passable as a red wine. I know thats a bit like “damned by faint praise” but in the non alcoholic red wine world, that is the whole ball game.
You don’t get any unbalanced after tastes like with a cheap red on the same price point you are paying for this.
The Verdict
It doesn’t just taste like a grape juice. Horray! You can taste “wineyness” and recognisable shiraz notes and spice. Its an reasonable effort from McGuigan
The Score
7/10. It is far from the worst on the market and if you have it at correct temperature it might just surprise you.
Where to buy
You can click this link to see the latest prices on Amazon.
If you are in the UK you can look on the excellent Dry Drinker and see if it beats Amazon
In Australia click through to CraftZero and get 10% off with code OPENINGTHEBOTTLE
McGuigan Notes
An alcohol free Shiraz from the McGuigan Zero range. Subtle spice and vanilla notes complemented by plum and forest berry aromas.
This Shiraz has a good length of flavour with sweet blackcurrants and a balanced finish.
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SUMMARY
It is far from the worst on the market and if you have it at correct temperature it might just surprise you. |
3.5
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