9.18.2010

box wines: the quest for excellence

I've been totally remiss in posting the results of our box wine tasting, that actually happened last winter. The news is, box wines are back, but they're re-branding themselves as "eco-friendly" - and honestly, these newer box wines taste nothing like their older, better known predecessor Franzia.

The packaging is frequently larger than the usual 750ml bottle, from 1L, which gives you about an extra glass of wine, all the way up to 3L, which is about 3-1/2 bottles of wine. TetraPaks are much like adult drink boxes in appearance, and are lightweight, and easy to recycle. Other methods favor wine that is shipped in bags, and boxed at the final stages, with boxes that use recycled cardboard, and even wood (like Wineberry). But how do they taste? We take one for the team, and embark upon the quest for excellence....

















Yellow and Blue, Argentinian Malbec (1L Tetrapak), $11.99
-> MY NOTES: Nose of bark and strawberry, taste was sweet, jammy, leather, perfect dinner party wine for a friend's house warming party.
* TOP PICK OF THE EVE!

From the Tank Estezargues (3L Bag in a Box), $29.99
-> MY NOTES: Nose of nail polish remover, medium tannins, sweet, we all liked the story behind the wine, but didn't love the wine, great wine for a hipster party in Williamsburg
















Moulin Roquille Bourdeaux (3L Bag in a Box), $38.99
-> MY NOTES: Nose of raspberry, perfume-y cheese, clove, eucalyptus (was the best smelling wine of the bunch), taste of eucalyptus, dry in the mouth, tannic, lavendar finish. Bring this to a work party full of designers
* TOP 3


















French Rabbit Pinot Noir (1L TetraPak), $8.99
-> MY NOTES: Nose of cultured yogurt, taste of black cherry, delicate, simple, coats the mouth, doesn't taste like a pinot, but was a great wine for a picnic
* TOP 3


Giacomo Sangiovese Toscana (3L Bag in a Box), $25.99
-> MY NOTES: Nose of nail polish remover, taste of green pepper, bitter, "meh", we decided you'd take this wine to a company party, if you didn't really like your co-workers, and knew you'd be leaving quickly


















Franzia, Cabernet Sauvignon (5L Bag in a Box), $14.99
-> MY NOTES: Nose of sangria, smarties, wine cooler, slightly tannic and jammy, no finish, and actually, not as offensive as we had feared. Also, Diana had never ever tried it, this, "The World's Most Popular Wine," so we decided it was time. Brings us back to our college days: get this for your niece for her graduation party, her and her friends won't taste the difference anyways, and it's not _that_ bad.

a few tastes in napa and hudson valleys


A few Napa Valley tastes:

Silver Creek Cellars
Busy, large tasting area, and I wanna say there was a whopping $20 tasting fee (free glasses, but who needs em? We would have gladly done without them for a reduced fee).

They had 2 memorable cabs, the 2006 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, my favorite of the two.

They age the wine in all American oak barrels, and they are very specific to point out that the barrels are usually only used for one 2-year cycle, at the most, two 2-year cycles.









I was actually hooked up by my awesome sister with a seat at the Sequoia Grove Winemaker Dinner at Oak Knoll Ranch, which is on one of their vineyards they work with, Lamoreaux Vineyards. It was gorgeous, the grounds were lovely, and yes, it was incredibly hard to stay sober with great wine flowing and yummy food pairings.

While I did like their cabs (most notably, the 2006 Lamoreaux Cabernet Sauvignon), my favorites were actually their 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, which was a lovely start to the evening, sweet without being cloying, and refreshing on a warm night (we all agreed it was much more delicious than the rosé).

The closer 2004 "Sequoia" Red Dessert Wine, was also a winner, and was a deliciously amped up port, and as it turns out, an experiment that they only made one barrel of. Also, Molly Hill, winemaker extraordinaire, was a lovely dinner companion :)






A few Hudson Valley tastes:

The grounds are lovely and surprisingly large, and tastings are $6 for 6 wines, but they give you a list of 11 wines to choose from. The large list made me wary, but there were some interesting surprises:
'09 Slate Hill White: Actually, not a bad table white, but for $14.99/bottle, I felt the folks at Astor Wines could direct you to something similar at half the price.
'09 Reisling: Soft nose of pear, taste of green apple, light, not cutting, not too sweet, this was my winner of the group
'08 HRR Cabernet Franc: Nose of cedar, raspberry, graphite, slight talcum, easy drinking, light, thin, quick finish of black pepper
'09 Syrah: This is 15.7% alcohol, nose is a whiff of blue cheese, deep red-purple color, tastes of coffee, wood chips, eucalyptus, harsh start, quick finish
'09 Proprietor's Reserve: This one is aged for 10 months in Hungarian oak (I've never heard of such a thing), and is 51% malbec, 39% zinfindal, and 10% merlot, tastes of clove and is very sweet (amaretto?)
We must have had a 6th one, but it was not memorable enough to warrant notes.


Tasting fee was $5 to try all of their wines
2009 Seyval: Nose and taste are both of cow's milk cheese.
2009 Solitary Oak (white): Nose is perfume-y, taste is glue, oak.
2009 Cayuga White: Nose is pear and nectarine, taste is nectarine, one note, not balanced, strong.
2009 Rosalais: They say the nose has delicate overtones of strawberry jam. It actually clobbers you over the head with the smell of strawberry jam, nothing delicate in the least. It is light, the nose is MUCH heavier than the taste, and it's not as sweet as it smells, but it's sweet and tart, and could be great on a hot summer night, after dinner.
2009 Blackberry Kir (is Cayuga White mixed with 5% Blackberry wine): Hmmm, this smells of cheese and tastes like grape drink. No thank you.
2009 Apricot (dessert wine made from 100% apricots): Yup, exactly what you think. If I was creative enough, I could come up with a use for this, but it's just straight up sweet, no complexity, just sugar.