Iron Maiden has teamed up with importer and distributor Ehrmanns Wine to create a wine inspired by one of the heavy metal band’s most recent songs. Taking inspiration from the band’s 2021 song Darkest Hour, Iron Maiden Darkest Red is a Douro DOC still red (also from the 2021 vintage) sourced from historic producer Van Zeller Wine Collection S.A. Launching the product at ProWein, Ehrmanns Wine head of sales Paul Daniell told the drinks business that the band expressed interest in the company’s other Portugese wines and also that it was a happy coincidence that frontman Bruce Dickinson spoke at the Wine Future conference in Coimbra, Portugal last year as this Portuguese table wine was in development. “This has been in the works for a year,” he said. “We chose Douro DOC because it’s in growth. There’s a buzz about Portuguese wines. If we did another Malbec, it would just be another Malbec – this is something different. It’s a disruptive wine in a disruptive category.” “We wanted to do something that was unexpected,” added head of marketing Keith Lay. “You might not think of a rock band for a wine brand – it had to be the right match. Kylie Minogue works with rosé, this had to be a red, but we didn’t want it to be too obvious.” The band was also involved in the process of choosing the wine, as Dickinson was with the launch of the Trooper beer brand through Stockport brewery Robinsons. “Bruce is a no half measures kind of guy,” suggested Daniell. The blend, consisting of indigenous Douro red grapes including Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz (better known as Tempranillo), was matured in old Port barrels for 6-9 months and clocks in at 13.5% ABV. While it might be for a heavy metal band, the wine itself veers towards the lighter side in terms of freshness, though with a strong black fruit character and inky colour befitting its name.