10 Delicious Fruity Red Wine Bottles (2024): Styles, Prices, Tasting Notes
Fruity red wine is a great starting point when dipping your toes into the exotic world of red wine!
They’re usually light with delicious flavor profiles and minimal bitterness - perfect for beginners.
In this article, we’ll look at six styles of fruity red wine, 10 scrumptious fruity red wine bottles worth buying, and how fruity red wine differs from sweet red wine.
Further reading
- Explore the Eclectic World of Sweet White Wine, including which sweet white wine bottles you should add to your cellar.
- While you’re at it, discover All There Is To Know About Dessert Wine.
6 Fruity Red Wine Styles
Although there are tons of red wine types, here are a few fruity red wine varieties worth trying:
1. Merlot
The Merlot grape variety produces sweeter red wines, given its low acidity and tannins.
Wine tannins can often come off as bitter. Since Merlot has lower tannins than many other red wines, it’s easier to taste the wine’s fruit flavors - a perfect fruity, dry wine.
The Merlot grape is also used in blends to soften more potent wine varieties.
2. Pinot Noir
How fruity a bottle of Pinot Noir is depends on the growing conditions and the bottle’s age. For example, Pinot Noir grown in California tends to be far more fruity than its French counterparts.
However, as the wine ages, Pinot Noir starts to lose its fruity flavors and begins developing spicy, earthy flavors.
Wines from regions like California also tend to have higher alcohol content.
3. Beaujolais Nouveau
Made from the Gamay red wine grape, a young Beaujolais Nouveau is one of the lightest red wines out there - a delicious fruity wine to start your red wine journey with.
It’s a fresh and fruity wine that tastes like grape juice. Given its lack of tannins, it’s best to drink this table wine while it’s young; within the first year of its release.
4. Zinfandel
While red Zinfandel is primarily produced in California, its origins begin in Croatia.
The Zinfandel grape produces delicious red wines that exude fruity flavors of cherry, plum, cranberry, and licorice. That’s why it’s popularly used for sweetening other red wines and also acts as a perfect cooking wine.
The Zinfandel grape is also used to produce White Zinfandel and Port wines.
5. Cabernet Sauvignon
This grape variety is used to create fruity and dry wine.
Typically, Cabernet Sauvignon is a dry red wine with medium-to-high tannins and palpable acidity.
But when it comes to flavor, Cabernet Sauvignon showcases different notes in different regions. For example, California-grown Cab Sauvs are full-bodied and fruity with higher alcohol content.
On the other hand, Australian Cabernet wines have richer dark fruit notes with mint notes.
6. Malbec
Argentina supplies much of the world’s Malbec - a great easy-drinking wine.
Malbec displays a full body and rich fruit flavors of plum and tart, making it a perfect wine to pair with red meat dishes.
Next, let’s take a look at some delightful fruity red wine bottles.
10 Delicious Fruity Red Wine Bottles to Buy in 2024
Here are some outstanding fruity red wine:
- 2002 Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France
- 2003 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin, Rhône, France
- 2013 Ghost Horse Spectre, Napa Valley, USA
- 2013 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA
- 2013 Ghost Horse Apparition, Napa Valley, USA
- 2011 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve, Rhone, France
- 2013 Harlan Estate, Napa Valley, USA
- 2015 Realm Cellars The Absurd, Napa Valley, USA
- 2016 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT, Tuscany, Italy
- 2018 Altos Las Hormigas Appellation Gualtallary, Tupungato, Argentina
1. 2002 Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France ($69,000)
This magnificent Pinot Noir offers a deep ruby red color with a glorious cherry nose. A gorgeous medium bodied wine with a flavor profile of juicy red fruit with coffee and herb undertones.
2. 2003 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin, Rhône, France ($8,900)
It has a tremendous aroma of black fruit and menthol that leads to a palate of raisin, raspberry, chocolate, and rum cake.
3. 2013 Ghost Horse Spectre, Napa Valley, USA ($5,300)
This is an extremely aromatic Cabernet Sauvignon with an elegant bouquet of dark red fruit with spice. Its hefty tannins perfectly balance the rich fruit flavors.
4. 2013 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA ($5,200)
This vintage Cabernet Sauvignon is a full-bodied red wine with unmistakable fruit. It has a deep palate of dark fruit, black cherry, and red fruit with a hint of coffee.
5. 2013 Ghost Horse Apparition, Napa Valley, USA ($3,050)
It has a nose of blackberry and black cherry gives way to bold flavors of black fruit and toasty oak spice.
6. 2011 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve, Rhone, France ($2,100)
The wine opens with an aroma of delicious red fruit and herbs. On the palate, notes of strawberry and cherry lead to a long and smooth finish.
7. 2013 Harlan Estate, Napa Valley, USA ($1,400)
It is a perfect red blend with an espresso, dark fruit, and cassis aroma. This full-bodied wine has intense fruit flavors of wild berry, blackberry, and currant.
8. 2015 Realm Cellars The Absurd, Napa Valley, USA ($1,200)
This red blend offers a nose of luscious dark fruit, chocolate, and oaky spice that leads to a decadent ripe fruit and pepper taste.
9. 2016 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT, Tuscany, Italy ($1,000)
The fruity nose of this Tuscan wine leads to a complex and full-bodied palate. Its medium tannins compliment the pronounced flavors of licorice, dark fruit, and Asian spice.
10. 2018 Altos Las Hormigas Appellation Gualtallary, Tupungato, Argentina ($50)
This dry red wine has an intense aroma of wild strawberry, raspberry, and lavender, which gives way to a structured, fruity palate.
The Difference Between Sweet Red Wine And Fruity Red Wine
Many people often confuse the term fruity with sweet and often use “sweet” and “fruity” interchangeably, which isn’t correct.
The sweetness of the wine comes from the wine’s residual sugar. The more residual sugar a wine contains, the sweeter it’ll taste.
Wine can be sweet and fruity, but the two aren’t always mutually exclusive. A bottle of wine can be packed with fruity flavors but still be bone dry with no measurable sugar content, meaning it can’t be considered a sweet wine.
Fruity and sweet wines do exist, carrying both fruit flavors and sweetness. For example. sweeter wine styles like Port and Riesling carry both, good sugar content and delicious fruit flavors.
Ultimately, fruity wines convey the essence and flavors of fruit, whereas sweet wine contains higher levels of residual sugar, while fruity-sweet wines express both.
Add a Bottle of Scrumptious Fruity Red Wine to Your Collection
If you’re a new wine drinker looking to ease into the world of red wine, any of these varieties are an excellent place to start.
Also, wine like Cabernet Sauvignon can be kept for decades, making them an attractive long-term investment option!
If you’re looking to invest in some fruity red wine bottles or any other fine wine, visit the Vinovest website. Vinovest offers a simple and easy way of buying, storing, and selling investment-worthy wines from around the world.
