Black Box Merlot

Price: $18
Maker: Black Box Wines, Madera, California
Varietal: Merlot
Packaging: 3-liter box
Alcohol: 13.5%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10

Black Box Merlot 2004 is a decent enough Merlot, though we fail to see why many people seem to hold up Black Box as the pinnacle of bag-in-box wines. The aroma is nice, with pepper, clove, and berry notes. The flavor offers some cherry and blackberry notes, with quite a bit of oak and a medium spicy finish. There’s not a lot of complexity, and the feel is a bit generic, but it’s an adequate red wine.