I gave Aldi’s Grande Alberone Organic Red a five-star review in the early days of this website, so I was interested to try this Zinfandel made by the same producer in Puglia, south-eastern Italy — and housed in a very similar (difficult to photograph) bottle.
It’s no shrinking violet, that’s for sure. It’s darker than ox blood, with more body than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Cherry and dark berries smack you on the nose, against a backdrop of chocolate, but it also smells unusually… alcoholic.
And on checking the label I realised that this is indeed about as strong as regular wine gets, at 15% volume it’s verging on fortified wine. Yep, in a parallel universe, this Zinfandel could easily take on most other reds in a bare-knuckle street fight.
However, it is a wine that’s likely to polarise opinion, and it does so on Aldi’s website. One customer gives it a five-star review, saying “Don’t come to this wanting a finessed, complicated mouthful. This is massively fruity, in the velvety, richly extracted style of Californian Zinfandel… Easy to drink, but very alcoholic.” Another gives it one star, calling it “Too sweet, over-extracted and over-engineered.”
They’re both valid opinions, of course, but at £7.99 I’m inclined to side with the former. This is a rich, smooth, hefty and fruit-forward wine that will appeal to fans of New World reds like Barossa Valley Australian Shiraz — me included.
4 NINJA STARS
Ps. If you like this, you’ll love the Aldi Grande Alberone Organic Red
Aldi Grande Alberone Zinfandel, 2016. 15% vol, £7.99.
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I was so dissapointed that Aldi has stopped selling this wine!
Will Aldi be stocking this again. If not where can I purchase this wine?
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Yes, it’s very disappointing when they do that. They seem to come and go though, so hopefully it’ll be back at some point. I’m sure I have contact details for Aldi’s PR dept somewhere, so I’ll ask for you…
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Very disappointed to find that this excellent wine was unavailable. Is this temporary?
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Ive been informed by Aldi that this is a seasonal wine and will be back on the shelves May 2019
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Ace, good work Katy. Now all we need is for them to get the Alberone Organic Red Blend back on the shelves.
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Anyone know if the Alberone is available in the stores?
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Best red I’ve tasted – put me off any other…. rich, warming, fruity with a peppery finish – lovely
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Just got a bottle of this wine from Aldi and I’ve got to admit it’s one of the best red wines I’ve tried. Excellent and hoping this isn’t going to be discontinued from Aldi.
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I suspect in true Aldi form this will disappear off the shelves eventually once stock runs out or production of this wine from Italy. However until then I will drink this till the cows come home. Fabulous drop & perfect for my palate & I’m not a Red wine person at all.
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