2009 Apothic Red Winemaker's Blend

 2009 Apothic Red Winemaker's Blend

Origin: California

Alcohol: 13.1%

When most people have big, juicy extra thick-cut ribeye steaks or smoky, succulent barbecue they probably consider drinking ice-cold beer.  Nothing wrong with that.  Nothing wrong at all.  It seems to fit with the idea of spending time outside in the heat tending the grill.  But for me, the thing that I prefer with grilled or smoked meat is one thing... red wine.  Maybe I'm just fancy like that.  Okay, probably not.  I just really enjoy red wine.

Apothic Wines out of California win my award for coolest-looking wine label.  Their wine release this year is the 2009 Apothic Red Winemaker's Blend which combines Syrah, Zinfandel, and Merlot in some unknown proportion.  Here's what they have to say about their wine,

Apothic Red reveals intense fruit aromas and flavors of rhubarb and black cherry that are complemented by hints of mocha, chocolate, brown spice and vanilla. The plush, velvety mouthfeel and smooth finish round out this intriguing, full-bodied red blend.  

And for the most part, I would have to agree.  For my palette, the cherry seems the most dominant both in the aroma and taste, with their being some distinct oak that doesn't show up in their tasting notes.  The mouthfeel really is silky smooth and wonderful like they say.  

Overall, the 2009 Apothic Red Winemaker's Blend is much lighter to drink than many similar blends I've tried, but still very flavorful, complex, and just damn tasty.  Plus, it's relatively cheap.  Too bad I didn't get a chance to try the 2008.          

Drink This: if you want one of the best cheap Red wine blends I've had in awhile.  Really quite the bargain for how tasty it is.
Don't Drink This: if you don't like red wines or get the dreaded red-wine headache.  But seriously, this is very tasty, high-quality wine for the price.