Price: $29
Maker: JuiceBox Wine Company, Manchester, MA
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Packaging: 3-liter box
Alcohol: 13.5%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10
Free Range Sauvignon Blanc 2005, a box wine from Free Range Wines, is a varietal one doesn’t often see in that kind of packaging. That’s a shame… this Sauvingnon Blanc offers a sweet red apple nose with a hint of vanilla. The flavor offers mild apple, pear, citrus, and oak notes. The finish is slightly peppery. Free Range describes the wine as “light and lively”, which isn’t too far off.
The grapes used for Free Range Sauvignon Blanc 2005 come in equal parts from Béziers and Carcassonne, in the scenic Languedoc-Roussilion region in south France. This wine is a cut above most boxed whites, though we found it a bit more forgettable than its siblings, Free Range White Bordeaux 2005 and Free Range Muscadet 2005. Free Range having such a strong selection of boxed wines (three reds and four whites) is truly an embarrassment of riches – “glass a day” drinkers are likely to be pleased with how long each box lasts, but disappointed that they can’t move on to the next Free Range box wine sooner!
I’d like to see box wine producers release smaller containers for “glass a day” drinkers. It would be nice to keep 2 or 3 wines open at once, but I just can’t get through that much wine in a month.
Of course if Alexander Valley would release a bag-in-box version of Sin Zin I’d be happy with a single red. Although I suppose people might balk at paying $40 or so for a box wine.
The point of bag-in-box is for “glass a day” drinkers, and I have FREERANGE boxes that are staying fresh for 90 days. Bag-in-box will go longer than what the packaging suggests, but it’s a matter of what happens with air as one gets to the very bottom of the bag.
This is the best and most expensive box of white wine I have ever bought in a box, but at $29, it still shakes out to only $7.50 a bottle, well worth it. This SB is more like a New Zealand style than Californian, which is a wonderful thing to me, since the CAs always seem bland to me, sad to say. NZs are typically minerally, earthy, an bursting with tropical fruit flavors. This one is light on the earth but still very good for the price. I am eager to try the Pinot Noir next. The wine consultant at my wine shop recommended the Free Range Sauv Blanc to me. It is great to see a growing selection of wines in the box for everyday drinking in small quantities.
Where is this wine available in the US?