Apothic Crush Limited Edition 2013: Broodingly dark color; cherry, chocolate, vanilla nose; dark red fruits, black cherry,
caramel, chocolate, vanilla, oak and toast, cola on the palate; big-fruity-jammy sweetness, silky in the mouth, minimum tannin and acidity, heavy mouthfeel. Blend of petite sirah and pinot noir, with petite sirah leading the flavor parade. Apothic appeals to a specific wine palate: big fruit, big residual sweetness, thickness, and priced to fly off Sam’s Club and supermarket shelves, particularly to people just getting into wines. It is made in Modesto, an anchor of the Central Valley large-production vineyards that use the long sun to harvest very ripe, high-sugar grapes; Apothic Crush pounds in at 14.5% alcohol and winemakers likely had to work the reins to keep it at that. It is a wine that does better sipped by itself than paired with all but the most aggressively grilled red meats. It will maul fish, chicken, salad beyond recognition. Fair enough, many wines, especially in California, are made to be more cocktail and party wines rather than crafted to play well at elegant dinners with ethereal foods served on small plates resting on starched white table cloth. And Apothic has a huge following—selling millions of bottles. People like what they like, and lot of people love this stuff. $11-14
