Box Wines
A wine blog with news and reviews of affordable wines

Price: $5
Maker: Charles de Monteney, France
Varietal: Bordeaux (100% Merlot)
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 12%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10

Charles de Monteney Bordeaux 2005 is 100% Merlot, and is found only at Aldi stores. It has an interesting nose of licorice, woody cedar, and raspberry. This is a lighter-bodied Merlot, with berry flavors that are rather lost in its puckery dryness and strong tannins. This is definitely a European-style wine, not as fruity or accessible as a typical California or Australian Merlot.

We couldn’t learn too much about the maker - the Charles de Monteney website is quite minimal. The parent company site, Benoit Valerie Calvet, has a slightly more elaborate site describing their Bordeaux wines. One claim on the site is that the firm holds costs down by subcontracting what it can.

Overall, this wine is very inexpensive but doesn’t really do much for us. If your taste leans toward dry reds with a bite, maybe it will work better for you.

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A boxed wine cracked the top 100 list of affordable Bordeaux wines compiled by the Bordeaux Wine Bureau.

The Selection Process: Today’s Bordeaux were selected from more than 270 wines nominated by importers and retailers across the country priced $8 to $25 retail. In February 2007, the jury tasted all entries grouped by price in a blind panel. Wines were selected in the top 100 that were an excellent representation of Bordeaux within the given price range

FreeRange Red Bordeaux 2005 was the only box wine to make the top 100 list in the blind taste test. It was also one of the least expensive, competing with wines that cost up to $25 per bottle.

Congratulations to FreeRange for putting a box wine into such an elite group!

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Price: $29
Maker: JuiceBox Wine Company, Manchester, MA
Varietal: Bordeaux
Packaging: 3-liter box
Alcohol: 13%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Free Range Red Bordeaux 2005 is the last red boxed wine from Free Range Wines - we’ve already tried Free Range Merlot 2005 and Free Range Pinot Noir 2005. This red is quite different from the other two. Its aroma is slightly smoky, and has red berry and mocha notes. The flavor is the most approachable of the three FreeRange reds, with a big, juicy nature that blends cherry and oak, and leads into a slightly peppery finish.

Free Range Red Bordeaux 2005 is a blend of varietals, all from the Bordeaux region of France. It is composed of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Whether you are a glass-of-red-wine-a-day drinker, or are looking for party wine that’s a step above the typical box (and quite a few bottles), this Bordeaux would be worth a try.

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Price: $9
Maker: Prestige Wine Group, Princeton, Minnesota (importer)
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, artificial cork
Alcohol: 13%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10

Collection des Chateaux de Boardeaux has a nice marketing pitch. The label explains that the year-to-year variations in Bordeaux vintages frustrate the wine drinker - some should be drunk young, others laid-down, and still others avoided altogether. So, Gerard Basset, European Sommelier of the Year, and Robert Joseph, an award-winning wine critic, have teamed up to taste over 100 wines from different Bordeaux chateaux and vineyards, and create a blend of wines that can be drunk immediately but can also be cellared for a year or two. This is the first cuvée, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

We found the aroma to be a rather intense mix of cherry and currant. The flavor is dry, in the European style, with less fruit and more mineral notes. The flavor notes were predominantly oak, woody elements, and pepper, with somewhat weaker raspberry notes. This is definitely not a “fruit bomb” wine… it has a relatively complex flavor, and a lingering, if somewhat tannic, finish.

I like a bit more fruit in a wine’s structure, but Collection des Chateaux may appeal to those who try to avoid California and Australian wines they consider to be too fruity. The packaging is simple but elegant, and our bottle featured and additional hang tag explaining the wine’s concept. Collection des Chateaux would make a nice gift at the inexpensive end of the spectrum, as it has had relatively little exposure, it has its origin in Boardeaux, France, and its story implies that experts have chosen carefully to bring you the best possible wine. If you choose to use this Bordeaux as a gift, though, be sure the recipients are likely to appreciate a red from the dry and tannic end of the spectrum.

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