Weekly Winedown #48 Apothic Red

Well, there’s another week gone.

Remember when we were young and the weekend took forever to arrive?
Summer holidays felt like they lasted months rather than weeks.

These days Monday seems to be here every other day!
Before I know it I’m going to be sat, shrivelled in an arm chair with a pointy party hat on trying to blow out the 122 candles on my birthday cake without losing my dentures!

I hope that doesn’t happen, I can’t bear the thought of getting that old…unless they give me a body transplant every 60 years.

That is probably a post for another time.
Today is Friday and time for a winedown!

I really should get a theme tune.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t going to bother today but then I spied this bottle of Apothic Red in the supermarket and figured a winedown would justify my purchasing it.

The Label

This is entirely why I bought this wine.
The label is black with a red vine like pattern wrapping around a large ‘A’.
Exactly like something you’d see on Pretty Little Liars – sent by the criminal master mind (if you entirely disregard the final, disappointing, episode) to unnerve and antagonise those ”not always innocent’ victims.
That’s it.
That is the sole reason I bought this wine, because it looked like it was designed by a baddie in a program.

I’m not even sorry.

The Blurb

Inspired by the “Apotheca” a mysterious place where wine was blended and stored in 13th century Europe. Apothic Red offers a masterful blend of wines including Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, creating layers of dark red fruit complimented by hints of vanilla and mocha. 

Well, that sounds interesting.
Despite having a very European looking label (yeah it does) and being inspired by European wine blending, it’s actually a Californian red.
Although I usually find Californian wine to be a bit too ‘sunshine and light’ for me I have high hopes for this wine. Full bodied, smooth and slightly spiced is what I’m hoping for!

Oh. My. Days.

The nose is so soft a familiar smell that I can’t quite put my finger on, maybe blueberry maybe grape (yes I KNOW it’s made of grapes but it never actually tastes of grapes) and vanilla.

The taste is sublime, it’s smooth yet full. Almost sweet but with a finish of tart dark berries. There is a definite vanilla and slight oak taste to it – everso subtle. The only thing I didn’t get was Mocha…maybe THAT was the smell?
Either way it’s a beautiful wine, one I’d be willing to pay full price for!

Sometimes it’s good to judge a book bottle by its cover label.

Go and buy it! All the major supermarkets have it in stock!

Name – Apothic Red
Price – £7.25  (currently 25% off)
Colour – Deep, velvet red.
Smell – Soft fruit and vanilla
Taste – Smooth, fruit and vanilla. Like honey (but not actually like honey because that tastes of bees)
Goes well with – That skirt I wore in 2008
Overall score – 5/5 yes it’s bloody perfect.