WTN: Black Box

‘Went to a tasting yesterday and they had the Black Box wines on the menu. We tried the sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon and malbec. I think the SB is from New Zealand but I didn’t get much chance to read the boxes.
The cabernet was poor – not disgusting or undrinkable but thin and didn’t taste much like cab.
The SB was pleasant; very NZ in profile. Crisp and well made.
The malbec was a treat. It started off smelling and tasting of its variety but a bit sweet. After some time in the glass, the character came out and it was pretty yummy.
These are all in three liter containers for $16/box.

I only had brief tastes here so take these comments with a grain of salt but I will probably buy a box of malbec soon – more then.

Best, Jim

[David M. Bueker]

Interesting. The bag-in-box phenomenon is getting to the point of completely acceptable mid-week quaffer, a good thing IMO.

I sell wine for a living and have been selling these for a while. I work for a chain store and I must carry them. They recently have come out with a riesling and malbec but I have not tasted them. I also love New Zealand Sauv Blanc. The Black Box SB was pretty generic and had little character. I have been saying that they should be selling more for $15 instead of the $20 they are here in Oregon. They are certainly better than many of the box wine category. Right now one of my favorite cheap wines is from Abel Clement in southen France. They have a grenache, both red and white that sells for $5.59 and are both delicious and finished in stelvin.

I'll add that we keep a box of the chard in the fridge nearly all the time. It's not Stony Hill, of course, but It isn't bad at all and I find I run out of cold chard less often since one box = 4 bottles. Thanks, Jim, for the notes on the others as the chard is all Liz and I have tried.

I have been drinking a couple of box wines this past year and am glad of it. One is the 2007 & 2008 Alain Jaume Grand Venur CDR red. The other is a white called Le Petite Frog, a Picpoul from the south of France. Both are very very good and are the same as that in the bottle. In the bottle look for a Picpoul from Hughes Beaulieu and pay about $12, or get the box for around $30 for 3 liters.

I will try the SB from Black Box this week. (If it is avbl in my location).

I picked up a bib of the Black Box sauvignon blanc a couple days ago. Not sure if it has a vintage date, but I would think 2008 or 2009. I am sure that these types of wine are sourced from many places/vineyards within a specified appellation, and I would further think the fruit would more than likely come from young vines. Also, I would think that there would be a LOT of variation as to quality.

The SB that I bought is recognizable as SB, but it sure doesn't scream SB nor NZ. Some light grassiness, but it has nearly no body, and no lingering aftertaste. Might as well be drinking a glass of water. Price was $21.99 I think, and the clerk whom I respect told me he and his wife had the malbec, and that it had a slight amount of rs, not sure I want that. Guess, I will try the Monterey County chard next.

FYI, when it first came out, during the previous wine glut which spawned Two Buck Chuck, Black Box was the idea of a bright young guy to put decent Napa wine that was in oversupply at the time and therefore selling cheaply into a b-i-b.

It was an instant hit---largely because there was some quality wine in the box, also because it was tongue-in-chic packaging/marketing and was priced okay.

Not very long after that, the young guy sold out for a big profit to one of the major volume producers, and subsequent contents was subject to whatever large amounts of wine were globally available for minimum sums.

It's fair to say the original concept was, um, slightly altered.

FYI, when it first came out, during the previous wine glut which spawned Two Buck Chuck, Black Box was the idea of a bright young guy to put decent Napa wine that was in oversupply at the time and therefore selling cheaply into a b-i-b.

It was an instant hit---largely because there was some quality wine in the box, also because it was tongue-in-chic packaging/marketing and was priced okay.

Not very long after that, the young guy sold out for a big profit to one of the major volume producers, and subsequent contents was subject to whatever large amounts of wine were globally available for minimum sums.

It's fair to say the original concept was, um, slightly altered.

Hoke, I hadn't considered the why, only the what. But given what you just told me, I will now pass on the Monterey chardonnay as well. I wonder if any of the Aussie bib's are worth the asking price. Somehow, I have to ask myself regarding those? if I don't buy their wine in bottle, why would I buy the box? Some may read this and think I am being a wine snob, but then they have to realize that I am buying bib's, but those are far ahead of Black Box. Two examples: Alain Jaume's Grand Venur (CdR) , and A Picpoul called Le Petit Frog from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France. Mighty good wines at the bib price.