Apothic Inferno (2018 vintage)
Wine: Apothic Inferno (2018 vintage)
Type: Red Blend
Winery: Apothic Wines (Modesto, CA)
Vintage: 2018 (Aged 60 days in whiskey barrels)
Price: $13.99
ALC. / Vol.: 15.9
About Apothic Winery:
Inspired by Apotheca, a mysterious place where wine was blended and stored in 13th century Europe, our wines are truly unique in style and taste.
Winemaker, Debbie Juergenson and her team, continues to challenge convention by crafting bold, captivating wines. From vintage to vintage, the character and flavor of the individual varietals guide the shape of each blend.
Conceived to be untraditional and bring innovative wines to market, each sip tells a unique and intriguing story. When you sip our wines, you’ll realize they’re anything but ordinary.
About Apothic Inferno:
With the depth of a red blend and a fiery bite from whiskey barrel aging, Apothic Inferno is a Red Wine with a Whiskey Soul. Paying tribute to a time-honored craft, this wine has been aged for 60 days in whiskey barrels, creating bold notes of red and dark fruit with layers of maple and spice. It delivers a rich red blend with curious intense taste. Apothic Inferno is first oak aged 2-4 months, then aged an additional 60 days in whiskey barrels to give a unique character to this special red blend. On the smooth, rich palate, it offers notes of ripe red and dark fruit, like blackberry and plum, that combine with layers of maple, vanilla and charred spice on the long, clean finish.
-
Nose
(3.5)
-
Palate
(3)
-
Finish
(3)
-
Value
(4)
Notes & Review
Nose: A muddled, jammy nose.
Notes of dry oak, moss, stonefruit, and a slight note of high-iron vegetation.
Palate: A full-bodied palate full of cinnamon stick, smoked black tea, stewed tart red berries, blackberry, spiced oak, and a hint of black pepper and flint.
Finish: The palate quickly dies into a quick and straightforward finish where the oak really shines. However, there isn’t much in the finish other than a dry spiced oak, black pepper, leather, and a faint hint of dried blackberry.
Review:
At the end of the day, this is a budget wine hands down. However, at a $13 price point, it’s definitely a wine that is worth the price of admission.
The 60 days in the wine barrel does a lot to impart some more bold and dry whiskey flavors into the wine, but don’t expect large swaths of bourbon flavor to be the dominant profile. This is definitely a red wine first, supported by straightforward whiskey notes of oak, spice, and smoked black tea.
For $13, it’s a great budget bottle for regular whiskey drinkers to break out at parties or while hanging out with some friends while having a cigar, but I wouldn’t break it out at a lavish dinner party or other high-brow events.
Greg Sinadinos started his spirits journey writing a whiskey periodical for Fine Tobacco NYC Magazine. He began answering review requests under a social media page he named “Whiskey Culture,” which quickly merged with Greg’s passion for connecting with others and his interest in history.
Today, Greg travels the country not just looking for great whiskey, but also exploring the history and individuals that the whiskey community is founded upon. He has authored “Whiskey History From Around The World” and is the host of “The Rickhouse” web series.
