A non-vintage blend of Petit Sirah and Syrah from California.
SRP of $22.99 and available for as low as $20 for a 3 Liter Bag-in-Box. (Equivalent to four standard 750ml bottles.) Sample received courtesy Benson Marketing and McManis Family Vineyards for review purposes.
From the bottle:
"McManis Family Vineyards' tradition has always been to make the highest quality wine, while over delivering on value. Our eco-friendly Jack Tone 3 Liter Box provides that same quality of wine that we put in our bottle. This allows us to pass on the savings to you, with the equivalent of 4 bottles of premium wine - at a very reasonable price.Believe it or not, this is the first boxed wine we've reviewed here at The Reverse Wine Snob. For the value conscious consumer (like us) boxed wines can be a great deal. In addition to the obvious quantity discount, these wines will also typically last for a month or more after opening making them extremely convenient. Today's wine is a new release from McManis Family Vineyards. We'll review its white wine counterpart tomorrow.
Our winemaker's plan for Jack Tone is to produce the finest red wine possible using any combination of four distinct varietals - Petite Sirah, Syrah, Zinfandel and Petit Verdot with the common goal of quality and "drinkability".
We hope you enjoy!
13.5% alcohol"
Despite what the label says the inaugural release of the Jack Tone Vineyards Red Wine Box Bottle Blend only contains two varieties, Petite Sirah and Syrah. In the future the blend could also include Zinfandel and Petit Verdot. And that is the potential downside of this non-vintage blend: there's really no way to know if the wine you have today will be the same as the wine you try in six months or a year. Then again the primary allure here is value. At the equivalent of $5 a bottle, this wine is really inexpensive -- and perhaps surprisingly, quite good.
The Jack Tone Vineyards Red Wine Box Bottle Blend begins with aromas of cranberry, spice, blackberry and vanilla. Those flavors of blackberry and vanilla carry over when tasting this simple, medium-bodied wine. Some light tannins also come into play, mostly on finish. The slightly dry finish also features a little spice and just a hint of mocha. We had several people taste this wine and it was universally liked. A box you'll want to break into!
Taste Rating: 7 Cost Rating: 10
Overall Rating: 7.8
Find out more about my rating system and check out the Wine Ranking to find all my reviews! You can sort by type of wine, cost, rating, etc. in the interactive spreadsheet.
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ReplyDeleteJon, any idea where in the twin cities I can get the highly rated wines on your site? I've tried a few local liquor stores and they have not heard of the handful of titles I have brought to them.
ReplyDeleteFrustrating, isn't it? I think there's something like 120,000 different wines made each year so the selection in any one store is just a tiny fraction of what's available. Really your best bet is just to order online.
ReplyDeleteCostco and Trader Joe's have a few of them, although each location has different inventory so it's a bit hit or miss. If you check the Wine Ranking page I list the ones that are available at those two stores.
I know Haskell's carries some of my recommended buys but a store like Surdyk's is most likely to have a number of them.
Hope that helps and thanks for reading!
Thanks for adding boxed wines to your reviews. They can be a good value but it's hard to know which ones to try. I like to have a red and a white around, for those times when I want just a glass, and for cooking
ReplyDeleteThank you for this review.
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for a frugal alternative for wines - good wines, at a good price. The Jack Tone is the best solution I've found yet. Excellent quality and a very reasonable price. Compliments to McManis on this excellent offering. I've just got the latest Jack Tone Red and it's heavy on the Petit Syrah with less Syrah than last year. Excellent bouquet and good tannins. This is the best wine in a box in the United States from a domestic vineyard that I've yet tried. If somebody can find a better one at a comparable price point, I'd be very interested.
Best,
Dan