Wine of the week: Bota Box Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Regular visitors here know that the Wine Curmudgeon does not much care for boxed wine for boxed wine’s sake. Poorly made wine in a box is still poorly made wine, despite being cheaper and more environmentally friendly. In fact, one could argue that poorly made boxed wine is even more of an environmental waste, since there is no reason for it to exist at all.

So when I find a boxed wine that is well made, I get giggly. Or at least as giggly as the Wine Curmudgeon can get. The Bota Box (about $22 for three liters, the equivalent of four bottles) is a simple, fruity (think cherry) California wine that is so much better than similar wines at this price that it’s difficult to believe. It doesn’t have any of the raw tannins these wines often have, it’s varietally correct, and it isn’t green – that is, it doesn’t have an unripe fruit flavor also typical of very cheap wines. (Which, sadly, some of its Bota compatriots do.)

It’s not quite as well done as the Avalon cabernet, but it’s also less than half the price. Which means it’s highly recommended and a candidate for the 2010 $10 Hall of Fame.Serve this with spaghetti and meatballs and burgers on the grill, or to people who only drink red wine.

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Comments

[Dino Wine]

Just enjoyed this wine as well last night. Did a little taste test with the Bota Box Cab Sauv, Zinfandel and Shiraz. I liked the Cab best and my friend liked the Shiraz. Very good find. Cheers!

[eric]

they had all types of this product on sale for $13.99 so i bought the old vine zinfandel and it was definitely worth the money. i might have to go pick up the cabernet while its still on sale!

[Jeff Siegel]

At $3.50 a bottle, that's a heck of a price -- this is much better than simalarly priced wines like Two Buck Chuck.

[Philip Williamson]

The Bota Box "pinot grigio 2009" is f*cking horrible. I like the packaging, I like the price, but really - how much would you pay to put your tongue on a battery?

[Jeff Siegel]

As noted, that's one of the problems with these super cheap wines -- there is no consistency from vintage to vintage or even within different wines from the same vintage. For what it's worth, too much cheap pinot grigio does taste like turpentine.

[Philip Williamson]

Turpentine - that's about right.