Free Range Chardonnay 2005

Price: $29
Maker: JuiceBox Wine Company, Manchester, MA
Varietal: Chardonnay
Packaging: 3-liter box
Alcohol: 12.5%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Free Range Chardonnay 2005 is another upper-tier boxed wine from Free Range Wines. This Chardonnay has aromas of green apple and citrus. On the palate, it offers an interesting mix of tart apple flavors, oak notes, and a creamy texture. The effect is one of balanced complexity.

Chardonnay is an all-too-common varietal, and many of the less-expensive brands have too much oak and not enough of anything else. Free Range Chardonnay fortunately is in no way over-oaked, and has a nice depth that will interest a variety of palates. The wine comes from Le Bousquet d’Orb, which is near the picturesque walled city of Carcassonne in the south of France. The town’s website proudly proclaims, “The highly appreciated Chardonnay produced by the wine Cooperative - which won an international gold medal in 1999 - is just one example of the ‘good life’ cultivated here in Le Bousquet d’Orb.” Chardonnay lovers will agree that Free Range Chardonnay is part of the “good life.”