19 Crimes The Warden Red Blend
19 Crimes The Warden Red Blend is a 750mL Australian red blend at 14.5% ABV — the Reserve-tier bottling of the Treasury Wine Estates range, a Shiraz-based blend from South Eastern Australia, bigger and darker than the convict-labelled wines it watches over. Dense, plush and chocolate-threaded, it is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 14.5%
- Size: 750mL
- Style: Shiraz-based red blend, Reserve tier
- Region: South Eastern Australia
- Producer: Treasury Wine Estates
The Man Who Kept the Convicts
Most 19 Crimes labels carry the transported — the men and women exiled to Australia for one of 19 crimes. The Warden carries the other side of the story: the custodians who oversaw the convicts, remembered in the brand's telling as at least as crafty and determined as their prisoners, and who put convict labour to building the young colony. The wine matches the persona — it sits at the top of the core range as its Reserve-tier blend, built on Shiraz and poured a shade darker and richer than the standard bottlings. The full cast is on the 19 Crimes vendor page and in our wine collection.
Tasting Notes
Winemaker and retailer notes agree on the register: dense purple hues; dark cherry, blackberry and boysenberry with chocolate and mocha and a lift of vanilla bean; a mouth-coating palate of dark fruit, sweet vanillin oak and a hint of chocolate over plush tannins, finishing long.
How to Enjoy
The steak-night bottle of the range — grilled ribeye, lamb or a dark chocolate dessert all meet it happily. Give it a short decant to open the dark fruit. More big reds are in our red wine collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is The Warden on the 19 Crimes label?
The inverse of the usual 19 Crimes portrait: not a transported convict but one of the wardens who oversaw them in the Australian penal colony — the authority figure of the range's story, and its Reserve-tier bottling.
What grapes are in 19 Crimes The Warden?
It is a Shiraz-based red blend, per the winemaker notes for the bottling. The full variety list and percentages are not published in a primary source, so they are not stated here.
Is The Warden the same wine as The Warden Reserve?
The brand's own US collections use both names — "The Warden Red Blend" and "The Warden Reserve Red Blend" — for the same $20 Reserve-tier wine. Del Mesa's listing follows the "Red Blend" form.
The top of the range, poured dark — order 19 Crimes The Warden Red Blend online from Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.