APOTHIC CRUSH // RED BLEND

This review originally appeared on Honest Wine Reviews.

APOTHIC CRUSH // RED BLEND

Apothic Crush wine is a red blend that comes from Modesto, California, USA. Over the years, Apothic has grown its lineup to include several different wines.  I’ve had the opportunity to review most, if not all, of them.

I shared this wine with my friend Al, who is always a great help when it comes to wine reviews.

From the bottle:

A decadent red blend that combines red fruit flavors with notes of caramel and a velvety smooth mouthfeel.

We tasted the 2014 vintage of Apothic Crush.

Appearance

In appearance, Apothic Crush is very deep purple in color.  You’ll see a lighter purple meniscus on the edge.

The wine is very opaque with little to no light able to shine through.

It’s a very leggy wine.  The drips took awhile to get going, but once they started it was an onslaught of heavy legs!  And, they were very slow to fall.

Aroma

The wine’s aroma is deep, rich and noticeable from afar when poured.

Up close, you get notes of black cherry along with hints of mocha and sweet cinnamon.

We both commented that we noticed very little alcohol in the aroma.

Apothic Crush alcohol content 14.5% by volume per the bottle.

From the aroma alone, it wouldn’t seem as though it would be that high.  But, the richness of the aroma definitely masks the alcohol.

Taste

We didn’t notice any of the cinnamon from the aroma carrying through to the taste.

But, the mocha and black cherry definitely did and those were the primary flavors in this wine.

We commented that Apothic Crush is “easy drinking” and “smooth and sippable.”

Mouthfeel and Tannins

We both felt the wine’s tannins were noticeable all over the palate.  For myself, I had an immediate strong tingling sensation on the tip of my tongue.

We generalized that the wine’s tannins were velvety and supple.

And, the overall mouthfeel was silky smooth.

Finish

The finish of Apothic Crush is quite long.

You may note a nice balance between the flavors and the tannins.

Overall Opinion

Overall, we both really enjoyed this smooth red wine blend.

We liked that it was silky smooth and flavorful and were appreciative of the balance this wine maintains across all its layers.

I’ve found the other Apothic reds to be very unique in flavor.  And although enjoyable, I found them to NOT be a wine I would want to have over and over again.

However, I think Apothic Crush breaks that mold and IS a wine you can keep around as a “house wine.”

To me, that was the biggest difference I noted with this particular blend from Apothic.

So…  Recommend!  Plus it’s a bit lower in price than some of the other Apothic reds out there.

Apothic Crush price $9.99.

Suggested Food Pairing

Let’s start with what NOT to pair this with.  I wouldn’t pair this with a grilled steak as I don’t think it would hold up.  It’s a bit too smooth for that.

I should also note that I would drink this now and not worry about letting it age.

What I would pair this with is either a Gruyere Cheese or Lump Blue Crab Cakes.

And finally, my friend thought this would go nice with a Waldorf Salad or with a dessert such as a Cherry Cobbler.