Summertime really brings out the best in Aldi’s alcohol selections, though I guess that statement could really apply anywhere, given my taste for sweet things, with summer being the main season where sweet drinks are always accepted. So when I saw that they would be offering a mango Moscato via their ad, my wife and I knew we’d be jumping all over that.
And jump over it we did, picking it up a day or two after it was made available. I was relieved to see that it has a twist-off top…old-fashioneds and wine connoisseurs will no doubt laugh in my face for this, but I hate the unpredictability of corks. Even with those fancy cork removers that prevent the cork from shooting anywhere, I still get nervous trying to pull one off; I trace this back to my younger years, when I idiotically removed a cork with my hands covering the top, allowing it to shoot directly in my palm. Even though the lasting damage was little more than a few minutes of stinging, it’s still something that has stuck with me ever since.
Cowardice aside, I cracked open the bottle, and, hoping to get a foreshadowing of the taste to come, took a whiff–my God, this stuff smells like heaven. It literally smells like an explosion of tropical fruits and scents, all combining together in your nose, and immediately diving down in your taste buds, forcing them to water. At least, that’s exactly what happened to me. Without wasting another minute, I resolved that I must take a sip!
Sadly, the taste did not live up to the smell, though really, there was no possible way it could have. There are so many flavors that hit the nostrils, it’s inevitable at least a few would be lost upon hitting the taste buds, which is exactly what happens. But before you go thinking this is going to be a negative review, I must right the ship–this stuff is still really delicious. Of course, it’s super-sweet, but there’s at least a good bit of mango that shines through in the flavor, making this a very enticing summertime beverage. The only thing it’s missing, and this is just a minor gripe, is a little bit of carbonation, which I think really could have elevated it a bit more, though admittedly, that would have just turned it into more of a wine cooler than an actual wine beverage (though the taste is already in wine cooler territory anyway, so…). Aside from that, though, this is pretty darn tasty, and one I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up again.
Overall: 8/10. It’s super-sweet, which will no doubt turn off most wine snobs, but Vivello’s Mango Moscato is a delicious, refreshing summertime beverage. It doesn’t quite live up to the scent, which is a very inviting tropical blend that immediately made my mouth water, but there’s definitely enough mango and fruitiness to go around. I wish there would have been a little carbonation added, but that’s just a minor gripe–I can definitely see myself getting at least another bottle of this before the season ends.
