Bota Box 2005 Merlot

personal tasting notes: Delightful nose! Rich with dark berries and black plums. Oh, yum, yum. The taste yields a slightly lean, but still very fruity, wine; quite toasty with some distinct oak notes. I found the finish just a tiny bit less than totally smooth, but very interesting. A nice, tasty, economical wine.

from the Winery: This lovely 2005 Merlot has a soft nose of plum and dark berry fruits with oak and spice nuances. On the palate the wine remains true to our style with fruit forward flavors of cherry with a hint of vanilla and toasty notes. The finish is smooth and well-balanced making this Merlot supple and easy to drink. Try our Merlot with roast pork or hearty meat and pasta dishes.

And for the ecologically minded amongst us--

• Bota Box is printed on recycled paper containing 95% post-consumer fiber
• The box is 100% recyclable
• Print directly on Kraft paper which doesn't need to be bleached like white paper
• The paper layers are bonded together with cornstarch instead of glue
• All inks and coatings are soy based instead of petroleum based.

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AND an extra note--later in the week, I mixed this Merlot (about 35%) with some Black Box Shiraz (65%). Really quite good; very satisfying in all respects. The shiraz smoothes out the finish on the Merlot and the Merlot bumps up the fruit of the shiraz. A wonderful combination.