French Rabbit Pinot Noir 2005

Price: $9
Maker: Rene Clement, Orange, France
Variety: Pinot Noir
Packaging: 1-liter Tetra Pak
Alcohol: 13%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10

We were pleased to find a new entrant, French Rabbit Pinot Noir 2005, into the non-bottle wine arena in our local Target Super Store. Target seems to have an eclectic, if not overly large, selection of wine. They have their own Wine Cube boxed wines, a smallish selection of bottles, and one of the larger selections of little packs of single-serving bottles. The 1-liter Tetra Pack used by French Rabbit is the typical miracle of thin-wall packaging. It takes up much less space than a 750-ml bottle, but holds a third more. I should point out that this type of box packaging is like a bottle in that once opened, the wine is in contact with the air contained in the container’s void space. So, if you plan to consume the wine over a period of days, you might consider pouring the remainder into a smaller container or using some other type of preservation technique.

The packaging is cute, though this Pinot Noir wasn’t overly impressive. We found nice licorice and berry notes in the aroma, but the cherry and oak notes in the flavor had to contend with a rather acidic finish. Letting this wine breathe didn’t seem to have much effect on its flavors.

French Rabbit Merlot 2005

Price: $9
Maker: Rene Clement, Orange, France
Variety: Merlot
Packaging: 1-liter Tetra Pak
Alcohol: 13%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10

French Rabbit Merlot 2005 is the second of this brand’s Tetra Paks we have tasted, and we liked it a bit better than the French Rabbit Pinot Noir. The Merlot has aromas of cherry and mocha, which also featured in the wine’s flavor. The finish is a bit tannic.

We like the compact size of the French Rabbit Tetra Paks, though neither of the reds we have taste has been particularly impressive. We’d like to see the fruit a bit more prominent and a bigger flavor overall. Still, this isn’t a bad Merlot.

Free Range Merlot 2005

Price: $29
Maker: JuiceBox Wine Company, Manchester, MA
Varietal: Merlot
Packaging: 3-liter box
Alcohol: 13.5%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Free Range Merlot 2005 is the first of the Free Range Wines we’ve sampled. This box wine has a robust nose,with leather and tobacco notes blending with berries. The wine smoothly combines blackberry and cherry flavors with oak and soft tannins. It’s a medium-bodied Merlot that will appeal to those who prefer a wine that leans toward a more European style without being too mineral-dominated. The finish is long, well balanced, and a bit dry.

Free Range’s own description says their Merlot originates in “the region surrounding the walled medieval town of Carcassonne in the south of France,” certainly a nice image to have in mind as one sips the wine. Their literature says that half of the grapes are from Carcassonne and half from B�ziers.

Free Range Red Bordeaux 2005

Price: $29
Maker: JuiceBox Wine Company, Manchester, MA
Varietal: Bordeaux
Packaging: 3-liter box
Alcohol: 13%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Free Range Red Bordeaux 2005 is the last red boxed wine from Free Range Wines - we’ve already tried Free Range Merlot 2005 and Free Range Pinot Noir 2005. This red is quite different from the other two. Its aroma is slightly smoky, and has red berry and mocha notes. The flavor is the most approachable of the three FreeRange reds, with a big, juicy nature that blends cherry and oak, and leads into a slightly peppery finish.

Free Range Red Bordeaux 2005 is a blend of varietals, all from the Bordeaux region of France. It is composed of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Whether you are a glass-of-red-wine-a-day drinker, or are looking for party wine that’s a step above the typical box (and quite a few bottles), this Bordeaux would be worth a try.

Free Range Muscadet 2005

Price: $29
Maker: JuiceBox Wine Company, Manchester, MA
Varietal: Muscadet
Packaging: 3-liter box
Alcohol: 12.5%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10

Free Range Muscadet 2005, a boxed wine from Free Range Wines, is by far the best Muscadet in a box we’ve ever encountered. In fact, it’s the ONLY boxed Muscadet we’ve ever seen. This varietal, from Nantes in France’s Loire Valley, is difficult to find in a bottle in the U.S., far less a box. Tasting Free Range Muscadet, we found a melony aroma with light floral notes. On the palate, the wine is a bit tart, with green apple flavor, a mineral character, and a slightly syrupy mouthfeel. While this wine isn’t our favorite among the four white wines offered by Free Range, that’s less a measure of the wine and more an indication of our preferences.

Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Price: $19
Maker: Black Box Wines, Madera, California
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Packaging: 3-liter box
Alcohol: 13.5%
Our Rating: 7.5 out of 10

The last time we tried Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon, we were relatively impressed. Black Box is generally highly regarded in the box arena. (Indeed, for a long time they were Google’s #1 choice for “box wines”… no longer, though. ;)) Despite this background, we were disappointed by Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. The aroma was nice enough, with blackberry and licorice notes. The flavor, though, was lacking - there were plum and oak notes, but the tannins were a bit sharp and there was an unpleasant earthiness. Perhaps we should have been prepared - we bought this box at a large enough wine outlet, but oddly the cab boxes were marked down to $13 (vs. a typical discounted price of $19 and a list price of $24). The other Black Box varietals were normally priced. Did these cab boxes end up stored next to the warehouse furnace for a few days? Or did the wine manager open one, taste the wine, and decide to blow them out quickly? We’ll never know, but our 2005 Black Box cab experience was definitely worse than our 2004 tasting.

Delicato Shiraz 2005

Price: $17
Maker: Delicato Family Vineyards
Varietal: Shiraz
Packaging: 3 liter box, pushbutton spigot
Alcohol: 13.5%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10

Delicato likes to brag about their many gold medals, and one honor for Delicato Shiraz 2005 is that the wine received a �Best Buy� designation from Wine Enthusiast magazine. Our experience with Delicato Shiraz 2004 wasn’t bad, so we looked forward to the 2005 Shiraz. We found the nose to be filled with dark berries, plums, and spice. The flavor is quite plummy, with blackberry notes and a tiny bit of spice in the finish. It’s a bit sweet, although I hasten to add that it’s not a sweet wine by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, it’s a bit less dry and less complex than I’d like in a Shiraz. On the plus side, it’s a smooth, gulpable wine with a moderately spicy finish.

Delicato seems to be on a roll… Delicato Family Vineyards was named the International Wine and Spirits Competition USA Producer of the Year for the third time in 2006.

Corbett Canyon Chardonnay 2005

Price: $9
Maker: Corbett Canyon Vineyards
Varietal: Chardonnay
Packaging: 3 liter box, twist spigot
Alcohol: 12.5%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Corbett Canyon Chardonnay 2005 was a favorite in Wine Blogging Wednesday #31. Despite its modest price - ounce for ounce, it’s cheaper than Two Buck Chuck from Charles Shaw except in California (where Two Buck Chuck really costs $2 a bottle) - Citizen Wine’s blind tasting event picked the Corbett Canyon Chardonnay as one of the best whites. We’re not big Chardonnay drinkers, but we finally decided to sample this wine. The nose wasn’t overwhelming, but had cut grass and tart apple notes. On the palate, this wine was crisp and refreshing, with Granny Smith apple and mild pear notes leading into a slightly acidic finish.

Corbett Canyon Chardonnay 2005

Price: $9
Maker: Corbett Canyon Vineyards
Varietal: Chardonnay
Packaging: 3 liter box, twist spigot
Alcohol: 12.5%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Corbett Canyon Chardonnay 2005 was a favorite in Wine Blogging Wednesday #31. Despite its modest price - ounce for ounce, it’s cheaper than Two Buck Chuck from Charles Shaw except in California (where Two Buck Chuck really costs $2 a bottle) - Citizen Wine’s blind tasting event picked the Corbett Canyon Chardonnay as one of the best whites. We’re not big Chardonnay drinkers, but we finally decided to sample this wine. The nose wasn’t overwhelming, but had cut grass and tart apple notes. On the palate, this wine was crisp and refreshing, with Granny Smith apple and mild pear notes leading into a slightly acidic finish.

Free Range White Bordeaux 2005

Price: $29
Maker: JuiceBox Wine Company, Manchester, MA
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc 50%, Semillon 50%
Packaging: 3-liter box
Alcohol: 12.5%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Free Range White Bordeaux 2005 is the flagship white wine from Free Range Wines - their other offerings, all boxed wines, include Free Range Red Bordeaux. This wine is a 50/50 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. It has a powerful aroma that leaps from the glass - we found apple, pear, and citrus notes. Apple notes dominate the flavor, with hints of citrus and melon. There is a crisp and refreshing acidity in the finish.

Semillon is often associated with sweet dessert wines, but don’t be misled - Free Range White Bordeaux 2005 isn’t a sweet wine. Despite the 50/50 split between the varietals, it seems that the Sauvignon Blanc plays a stronger role in both the nose and the flavor. This wine was one of the hits of our party wine bar - it was one of the first to be finished.

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.”

Free Range Sauvignon Blanc 2005

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 B�ziers 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

Fetzer Valley Oaks Gewurztraminer

Price: $9
Maker: Fetzer Vineyards, Hopland, Mendocino County, California
Varietal: Gewurztraminer
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, artificial cork
Alcohol: 12.0 %
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Gew�rztraminer means “spice grapes” in German, and this wine is a good example of the varietal. Fetzer Valley Oaks Gewurztraminer 2005 has a pleasing nose with melon, floral, and spice notes. The flavor is interesting - it starts off with strong sweet peach notes, and neatly transitions into a spicy grapefruit finish. Along the way, there are green apple and honeydew notes. The crisp acidity in the finish balances the early sweetness well.

Gew�rztraminer food pairing suggestions often involve spicy foods, and the Fetzer Gewurztraminer would serve this purpose well. It would also be a fine choice to enjoy alone, and the fact that it’s not unforgivingly dry will let it appeal even to those who crinkle their nose at a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.

Leonard Kreusch Estate Riesling

Price: $7
Maker: Leonard Kreusch, Germany
Variety: Merlot
Packaging: Bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 11.5%
Our Rating: 8 out of 10

Leonard Kreusch Estate Riesling 2005 has a mild spicy pear aroma, and a slightly syrupy mouthfeel. Its flavor notes include pear, apple, and grapefruit, with the latter being most prominent in the finish. This is a pleasant enough Riesling that would be fine for serving with seafood or to take some of the bite out of spicy food with its sweetness.

Ironstone Obsession California Symphony 2005

Price: $7
Maker: Ironstone Vineyards, Murphys, California
Varietal: Symphony
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, artificial cork
Alcohol: 12%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Ironstone Obsession California Symphony 2005 is a moderately sweet white wine made from Symphony grapes, which are a California varietal derived from Muscat of Alexandria and Grenache Gris in the 1960s. Its nose has floral, pear, and sweet melon notes. The flavor features peach, cantaloupe, pear, and honey. It’s saved from being too cloying and sweet by a tingly, acidic finish. We found it to be eminently drinkable.

We served this at a small party and it was a huge hit with the ladies. There wasn’t a drop left at the end of the evening, and several went to the trouble of writing down the details so they could shop for it themselves. The San Francisco Chronicle notes, “Its aroma is strongly floral, with some star anise. It’s very slightly sparkling (’frizzante’ is the technical term), and its flavors are reminiscent of a good Gewurztraminer: strongly floral, with notes of Meyer lemon and prickles of pepper on the finish.” So, if you are looking for an inexpensive, slightly different, crowd-pleasing white wine, try the Ironstone Symphony.

Corbett Canyon Chardonnay 2005

Price: $9
Maker: Corbett Canyon Vineyards
Varietal: Chardonnay
Packaging: 3 liter box, twist spigot
Alcohol: 12.5%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Corbett Canyon Chardonnay 2005 was a favorite in Wine Blogging Wednesday #31. Despite its modest price - ounce for ounce, it’s cheaper than Two Buck Chuck from Charles Shaw except in California (where Two Buck Chuck really costs $2 a bottle) - Citizen Wine’s blind tasting event picked the Corbett Canyon Chardonnay as one of the best whites. We’re not big Chardonnay drinkers, but we finally decided to sample this wine. The nose wasn’t overwhelming, but had cut grass and tart apple notes. On the palate, this wine was crisp and refreshing, with Granny Smith apple and mild pear notes leading into a slightly acidic finish.

Manyana Tempranillo 2005

Price: $7
Maker: Bodegas San Valero Soc. Coop, Cari�ena, Spain
Varietal: Tempranillo
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 12.5%
Our Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Manyana Tempranillo 2005 is a surprisingly light shade of red in the glass, and has a mild fruit nose with berries and licorice. The wine is light-bodied, starting with cherries and strawberries leading into a moderately dry finish. This wine wasn’t particularly to my taste - light, dry reds just aren’t in my sweet spot (no pun intended, of course).

Manyana Tempranillo is imported by the ubiquitous Prestige Wine Group - they also offer a Crianza and a Shiraz from this winery.

Temptation Zinfandel 2005

Price: $12
Maker: Alexander Valley Vineyards, WH, Sonoma County, Healdsburg, California
Varietal: Zinfandel
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, screw cap
Alcohol: 14.5%
Our Rating: 8.9 out of 10

If you favor big Zins, Temptation Zinfandel 2005 might punch your ticket. It has a moderately strong berry aroma, and a warm, fruity flavor with black cherry and chocolate notes. This Zin builds in intensity as it approaches the finish, which is long and slightly acidic. This wine isn’t overly complex or subtle, but is definitely nice to drink. I opened it to accompany outdoor-grilled strip steaks, a pairing which worked out just fine. I’d also pair this wine with fun food, like Chicago deep-dish pizza.

Red Guitar Navarra 2005

Price: $8
Maker: Bodegas ADA, S.L., Navarra, Spain
Varietal: Tempranillo and Garnacha Blend
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 14%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Red Guitar Navarra 2005 was an interesting find on our local shop shelf - it’s an uncommon mix of 55% Tempranillo and 45%Garnacha. Its aroma is a mix of berries, leather, and carmelized sugar. The flavor, if given a chance to breathe, is a well-structured combination of blackberry, oak, and tannins. This Red Guitar wine isn’t as fruity as some California blends, but isn’t overly mineral in nature either. We like it a lot, and its uncommon composition makes it an interesting find for entertaining. This is labeled as an “old vine” blend. We can’t say how much impact the age of the vines has, but it’s certainly a nice enough wine for the price.

Infinitus Tempranillo 2005

Price: $9
Maker: CIV USA (Importer)
Varietal: Tempranillo
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 14%
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Infinitus Tempranillo 2005 is a tasty Spanish red wine that offers a great value for under $10. Its aroma is spicy berries with a subtle leather note. The flavor starts off with lots of juicy blackberry and plum flavors, and segues into spice and oak notes with a dry, almost astringent, finish. This combination makes Infinitus Tempranillo more interesting than the typical fruit bomb red wine. We liked this wine a little better than the Infinitus Cabernet Sauvignon - Tempranillo 3004 we tried last year.