- Winery:Black Box Wines
- Vintage:2009
- Country: USA
- Region:California
- Price: $21.50/3 Liters
- Rating:3 out of 10
“You bought me a WHAT?” – the lovely and talented Kathy
Ok, yes, I know boxed wines have a stigma about them but I’ve only ever tried them once. (California, Target BRAND Chardonnay, it was not a happy time) Black Box Merlot is, I will say politely, an under performing wine. Were it part of a sitcom, it would be immediately fired and replaced by David Schwimmer. The best attribute of Black Box Merlot is that the box has a convenient carrying handle. (That I assume I will use shortly to dispose of the remaining contents in an eco-friendly way)
Unlike Barefoot though, Black Box Merlot actually tries. It wants to be good but is held back by it’s packaging and lack of care. If you want to slip into snooty wine talk, the flavors are all muddled together into a purple punch. No one flavor standing out for fear of being beaten down by the others. Sadly, as much as I wanted Black Box Merlot to be good, it is not.
Checking in with the college student in the house, I asked my daughter (of legal drinking age) to sample it. Apparently, Black Box Merlot does have a redeeming quality as she promptly declared. “I could drink this.”
So while I won’t, nay, I can’t give Black Box Merlot a good score, I can give it a serving recommendation. It goes well with College students.