Dark dense black purple with almost no edge. Smokey, dense, black fruit, lush with warm pie-spices, leather and wilted floral. Opulent and velvety, it carries itself on density and ripeness rather than out-and-out complexity. A nice blend, and a style of wine I don’t *personally* find all that compelling but from tasting a LOT of general-consumption wines at this price-point, I know a LARGE majority of casual drinkers–AND many of my wine-geek friends whose palates I know–will consider it outstanding. Baby, baby fruit–all rather one-dimensional–heavy on depth of ripeness and short of knock-your-socks-off nuances. Boozy and rich, this little Stelvin is definitely a crowd-pleaser. Gobs and gobs of black-cherry fruit, toying with raisin. In the mouth, a bitter acid streak improves things considerably, balancing out the fat you envisioned from the nose. A considerable amount of air breathes off the baby-fat and displays the peppery blackness of the PV. Once again, a meagerness of complexity is easily over-looked for the massive, dense concentration and tannic spritz. Dry, dry, DRY heat and immense tannin on the finish make this make this somewhat of a dis-jointed two-piece wine: The effusive infantile fruit juxtaposed against the obliterating structure. One of the best Lodi wines I have had in LONG recent memory and an easy-drinking, fun wine I whole-heartedly recommend. Find it at Grape Encounters Empourium in Atascadero.
♦
2013 TWISTED CEDAR Petit-Petite California 53/47 PV/PS 14-3
http://www.twistedcedarwines.com

