Black Box - Merlot

Price: $19.99
Region: California (Sonoma)
Year: 2005

I didn't have a whole lot of time this weekend to walk around the store looking for an interesting wine to review. This was the last weekend of my son's summer baseball tournament season, and there was lots of time on the road, and in the stands watching baseball. While I hope this is definitely not the norm, I had to fall back on a wine I have had five or six times in the past. Since I most definitely was only going to make one stop at the wine store this weekend, I wanted to pick up something that would last me a couple days. Therefore, I picked up a box of Black Box Merlot.

As I mentioned above, I have tried this wine a few times before, so I am kind of straying from my original guidelines, but it won't happen often. One other bit of information, is that I already know I really like this wine, however, I have never tried to observe it in detail, and have definitely never written a review on it. So hear goes. First, even though it is $20, you get 4 bottles of a standard 750ml bottle of wine, so if you look at it like that, it is really only costing you $5 per bottle. Given that, the Merlot had a deep rich color, and a wonderful smell. The smell was definitely not overpowering, but pleasing. I never have bought a wine because it smelled good, but it is still a pleasant experience when you find a good smelling wine. It just seems adds to the all around enjoyment. The taste of the Black Box Merlot is tough to beat for the price. It is a very smooth wine, with no bite whatsoever. Sunday, I was enjoying a simple backyard cookout, with the main course being hamburgers. I'm not sure I could have picked a better combination for what I paid for the dinner and wine. Overall a very relaxing end to a very hectic weekend, and one I will try again before the end of the summer. And the best thing is, I have some left over for the week just in case the mood strikes me to have a glass some time after work.

Rating: 4 corks - (Definitely worth putting on the "buy" list)
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