Black Box Napa Valley Reserve Chardonnay

Over the past few months we’ve received a surprising number of boxed wine samples.  I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise since we are all about cheap wine.  But even though we’re into cheap wine, we’re still finicky and definitely prefer to review good, cheap wine (or call it “inexpensive wine” if you have a hang-up with the word cheap.)  Anyway… we have noticed an increase in wine producers using bag-in-box packaging and we’ve noticed the quality of the wine going into boxes to be improving as well.

Black Box is one of the producers that’s doing a nice job with their boxed wines.  And when I say, “nice job” I mean that the wine is OK.  They do better with some varieties than with others.  This chardonnay I would say is good.  I was really impressed with the bouquet, but not as wowed by the palate.  It doesn’t “blow me away” as the best chardonnay I’ve ever tasted, but for the equivalent price of $8.00 a bottle it’s pretty good.

I should note that Black Box actually puts out two different chardonnays.  They have a Monterey County chardonnay, which I have not tasted, and this Napa Valley Reserve chardonnay.

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Main Street Winery Chardonnay

When you’re looking for a California Chardonnay, you may seek out one from Russian River Valley, Napa Valley or Sonoma Valley.  But there’s another region you should consider, Santa Barbara County.  This region is far south of the Sonoma/Napa wine country.  In fact, the southernmost part of the county is just over 100 miles north of Los Angeles.  Instinctively you may think it would be warmer this far south and not as good for vineyards, but influence of the Pacific ocean make outstanding conditions for growing wine grapes.  The area gets very little rainfall and a persistent fog from the coast creates cool, cloudy conditions which grapes like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir just love.

The majority of the grapes in the Main Street Winery Chardonnay come from Santa Barbara County, 82% to be exact.  The other 18% of the grapes come from Monterey County, north of Santa Barbara County and just south of San Francisco.

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Montevina Chardonnay

Montevina got their start back in 1970 and they’re based in Sierra Foothills in Amador County, California.  While they have 400 acres of estate vineyards, they also source some of their grapes from other growers.

The literature available on their Chardonnay doesn’t state whether the grapes are from their vineyards or sourced.  It also doesn’t state, in detail, where the grapes are from

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Concannon Conservancy Chardonnay

When I write about European wines it’s fairly common to come across producers with a rich history, passing down vineyards for several generations.  But most producers in the US have a much shorter history.  Concannon is an exception to that rule.  Established in 1883, Concannon is the oldest continually operating winery in California under the same family name.  They now have four generations of family involvement in the winery.

Concannon produces a few different lines of wine and this Chardonnay is from their Conservancy line.  These wines are produced with grapes sourced from the Livermore Valley vineyards, which are protected by a conservation trust to ensure that the land is preserved as a wine production region and not overtaken by urban sprawl.

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Monthaven Chardonnay

Boxed wine seems to be taking on new shapes lately with both the shape of the containers and the quality of the wine inside.  There are several wines on the shelves these days in what’s been named Octavin packaging.  It’s an eight-sided box (an octagon) and is really just a new shape for bag-in-a-box packaging.  The Octavin packages hold 3 liters of wine, which is the equivalent of 4 average-sized wine bottles.  While you may be reluctant to open a package with so much wine in it for fear of it going bad, you really don’t need to be as the wine will stay fresh for up to a month after opening.  This is due to the fact that exposure to air is what causes wine to go bad after opening, but with bag-in-a-box technology the wine isn’t exposed to air when you open it.

The wine in this Octavin is , named for the location of the winery in Monterey County, California.  While the fruit in this wine is sourced from vineyards throughout the Central Coast, the majority of it is from Santa Barbara and Monterey.  35% of the wine is barrel fermented, and the majority of it is barrel aged for at least four months.

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