TN: 2015 Apothic Inferno

WINE TALK
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The good thing about my bi-weekly brown-bag group is that you can take a flyer and try all sorts of weird s*#t.

The bad thing is that, in recent years, the members have been bringing better and better wines, so there isn’t as much freedom to get wild.

But today, I figured, what the hell. A friend’s 20-something son had had a party at my friend’s weekend house and there was most of a case of this stuff leftover, so I grabbed a bottle.

What can I say? I was curious about a $12 “Small Batch, Limited Release,” 15.9% ABV, aged-in-whisky-barrel wine from Gallo. Who among you wouldn’t be? Tell me honestly.

(What does Small Batch, Limited Release mean at Gallo, anyway? Five hundred thousand cases instead of 7 million?)

So what was the wine like, you ask?

On the nose, it spoke of blackberry essence. I mean, more intense than mere blackberry pancake syrup. Far beyond Molly Dooker’s mere blueberry syrup. On the palate, there were beams of Christmas/pumpkin pie spices – cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, along with that blackberry concentrate. “Camphor!” someone called out. Yes! Camphor, too! (Singed alder perhaps? No, not really.)

Just a slight sweet impression, but at 15.9% that might have been the alcohol speaking. On the whole, it wore its 15.9% surprisingly well. And there were only the most nuanced signs of the whisky barrel aging.

The alcohol showed a bit on the finish, but overall this was not as gag-inducing as I expected. No one spat it out. That’s high praise given what it was. This really showed its pedigree, and exuded resonance.

“Melted lollipops with alcohol,” one of the more astute tasters remarked. I guess that’s the mark of the Modesto terroir:

1 Like
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(93 Pts)

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You brave souls.

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The others had no choice, so I can’t credit them with bravery.

To atone, I later served a 1986 Ch. Nairac (Barsac). Sadly, it had a poor cork and was well along the downhill slope. But at least it didn’t pose a health hazard.

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That is a truly hideous label

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I chuckled.

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You have to wonder if the name isn’t a reference to the 15.9%.

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I was expecting a note on a Valtellina wine that I had not heard of before!

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Aged in whiskey barrels. What a TURRIBLE idea

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It seems to be all the rage. One of the reasons I wanted to try the Apothic was that I’d seen this one, which clocks in at 17% (!) and goes for $30. I was curious to test out the category, but was reluctant to shell out $30 for the experience.
Cooper & Thief red blend.JPG

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↑↑That one (The Cooper and Thief)↑↑ is supposedly like a Port Wine - high alcohol and residual sugar levels.

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It doesn’t say fortified, but you have to think at 17% that it is. I don’t know what the labeling rules are on that.

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I think that at this point, maybe we should start a thread asking our ‘wine betters’ with more discerning and refined palates how they go about “getting” these whiskey barrel wines.

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[wink.gif]

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Yes but John, and I ask in all seriousness, did you find yourself enjoying it despite yourself

Could you see it as an occasional guilty pleasure [wink.gif]

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Uh … not so much.

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Check out the reviews. You better get the rest of that case while you can!

http://www.totalwine.com/wine/red-wine/red-blend/apothic-inferno/p/164935750#

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haha 21 reviews at 4.5 stars!

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I have to share these:
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This is the Critter Wine trend o’ the moment.

19 Crimes had a Rum-Barrel aged Red Blend that people freaked out over, too.

Wine people conglomerates trying to get in on the craft beer trend.

Honestly, I expected much, much worse from all the ones I have been professionally subjected to, with the exception of the Bourbon-Barrel aged Chardonnay that failed to exceed my low expectations.