Wine Review: Smashberry 2012 Central Coast Red

So historically my favorite red wines are basically a mouthful of dirt. I've noticed, however, that lately I've been really favoring the big, juicy fruit-bombs. So here's a review of a big, juicy fruit-bomb.

Smashberry is based out of Paso Robles, California. Their 2012 Central Coast Red is 32% Merlot, 26% Petite Sirah, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Cabernet Franc. This wine has been tearing it up all over the place. If it means anything to you, it got 88 points from Robert Parker, 89 points from the Beverage Testing Institute and was Las Vegas Review-Journal's 2013 Red Wine of the Year.

The package walks the line of cheesy and cool. I can see how some may not even consider purchasing it because of the label but it really does capture the personality of the wine inside: Merlot with its blue and black fruit colliding with the other grape's red fruit to make a juicy hedonistic mouthgasm.

Alright, here we go. Let's get smashed off of Smashberry in the name of a wine review...

The color of the wine is a deeply concentrated dark purple, an indication of low acidity.

At first I thought I had a corked bottle because it was so mute. Bummer. This assumption wasn't helped by the fact that the cork had actually broken in half when I went to pull it out. It turns out that this particular bottle just needed some time to open up, which is strange because it's usually ready to go right after you pop it.

And then BOOM! Just like that there's blueberry, cranberry and cassis on the nose with voilets and a dusting of cinnamon.

The palate is bold and juicy with blackberry, dark cherry, cranberry and oak. It's full-bodied with surprisingly big tannin and finishes with cranberry and blueberry. The fruit characteristics of all four varietals used in the blend show through beautifully, the 16% Cabernet Franc much more than expected with all that cranberry.

This is a stress-relief wine. If you've had a long, shitty day then the doctor has a cure for you: bring a bottle of this stuff home and everything will go right back to being all good. Also, I'm the doctor.

I've bought it a few times now and I plan to purchase it again. The thing I really love about it is how great it goes with nothing but a big glass of ice water. It's just a yummy wine that doesn't need anything or even to be analyzed. Screw searching for flavors and digging for descriptors; just enjoy it.

I've been pointing Smashberry Red out to customers about to purchase Apothic Red, specifically. It's a completely different type of blend and not an alcoholic, sugary Hi-C like Apothic but its fruit forwardness and full body appeals to the Apothic drinker. It's a big step up in quality for only a few bucks more and they almost always come back to tell me how awesome it was. I myself am a huge fan of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and I've also been suggesting this blend to other Merlot drinkers, with great results.

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $11
Rating: 4/5 = Recommended.
(what does that mean?)

The bottle used was purchased by myself for the purpose of this review.

YOU CAN BUY SMASHBERRY RED FROM THE WINE STALKER AMAZON STORE!