Ok so I know I was supposed to do this review weeks ago….BUT yea life happens so here it is! Dark Horse ‘Double Down’ red blend mmmm….

At first open, the aroma was strong but still very fruity in smell. I was prepared to be knocked back, being that this blend was at a whopping 14.5%abv which is pushing it for me with that level of alcohol in relation to quality. In my opinion once the abv in wine reaches higher than 15%, you’re gonna be drinking dark skinned rubbing alcohol at that point. But this blend perked me up as soon as it hit my tongue!

The first thing I said was “I have to let this one breath!”. Some red wines generally need time to aerate, but I don’t usually bother with aerating most of the wines I buy because, 1. they aren’t of great quality and the tannins are usually pretty low and 2. because only certain reds will need it. This ‘Double down’ blend benefitted GREATLY from aeration! Now of course Dark Horse brand sells a good assortment of wines for you to test this out. Check out their website here, and I’m sure you can buy most if not all of their wines at your local grocery store.

I’m also working on creating some awesome aerators, decanters, and wine glasses to compliment my wine enthusiasm. Just wait on it! *wink wink* So, since I don’t have a fancy aerator I simply poured a glass and let it sit for 15-20 mins. It’s just that simple people! If your wine has a bit of a bite at first taste, “let it breath” for about 20 mins. And once you get your cool aerator you can drink right away!

The taste is rich and bold, yet dark and fruity all simultaneously, which to me suggests that this wine was made with well ripened grapes. Although, there is truly no way for me to know if there were any fillers or artificial flavors added, the taste felt very authentic and I didn’t have a wine headache the next day so, I’ll say it’s a wine in the quality department ESPECIALLY in the $8 price range. Ya’ll know I live for a good cheap wine! ‘Double Down’ has absolutely NO residual sugar, so for my ‘sweet winers’ I would pass this one right on up unless you’re looking for a bit of adventure! I paired this with a delicious nutty parmigiano cheese made with a hint of red wine…AMAZING…and a bosc pear. Overall I highly recommend this wine if not just for the taste, but most definitely for the price! Enjoy!

Peace