Important caveat: I only barely "like" this in the abstract- it's not wildly enjoyable, more like acceptable for mindless drinking. But I do REALLY like the QPR here- it tastes like the average manipulated grocery store recipe red with a bit of confected character, but instead of costing $10 it ends up costing around $3 per bottle in the box. That's genuinely great QPR for what it is. It's several steps up from Charles Shaw, from what I vaguely remember.
You can definitely sense the bitter, fake oak chips that I definitely don't love, and the fruit feels about half fake, but there's a sense of more "real" fruit and oak here too, a pretty dark cherry tone with some toasty vanilla. There's a little bit of banana laffy taffy going on here sometimes, which sounds really weird and awful but I promise, it's not gross. It's also kind of nicely structured with a little bit of actual acidity, faint though it may be there are wines for three times the price that taste like water. At first the tannins (yes, some tannins!) were a little coarse and out of place, but as it sat on the counter for a week it seemed to mellow out.
I can't really rate this, especially as I have limited experience with boxed wine, but although this isn't really a good wine, it's more than acceptable for very low budgets and I probably will end up buying it again, especially for mulled wine.
EDITED TO ADD: bought another box of the same vintage and it's even better. Still confected/manipulated sure, but less bitter this time, more vanilla and vague fruit. Great QPR for the insanely low price.
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12/27/2022 - ToddR911 Does not like this wine: 75 Points
Barely drinkable. Poured it out. Watery and will not buy again.
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11/14/2022 - Twiney wrote:
Nice with a slight spicy after taste
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1/21/2022 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine:
Important caveat: I only barely "like" this in the abstract- it's not wildly enjoyable, more like acceptable for mindless drinking. But I do REALLY like the QPR here- it tastes like the average manipulated grocery store recipe red with a bit of confected character, but instead of costing $10 it ends up costing around $3 per bottle in the box. That's genuinely great QPR for what it is. It's several steps up from Charles Shaw, from what I vaguely remember.
You can definitely sense the bitter, fake oak chips that I definitely don't love, and the fruit feels about half fake, but there's a sense of more "real" fruit and oak here too, a pretty dark cherry tone with some toasty vanilla. There's a little bit of banana laffy taffy going on here sometimes, which sounds really weird and awful but I promise, it's not gross. It's also kind of nicely structured with a little bit of actual acidity, faint though it may be there are wines for three times the price that taste like water. At first the tannins (yes, some tannins!) were a little coarse and out of place, but as it sat on the counter for a week it seemed to mellow out.
I can't really rate this, especially as I have limited experience with boxed wine, but although this isn't really a good wine, it's more than acceptable for very low budgets and I probably will end up buying it again, especially for mulled wine.
EDITED TO ADD: bought another box of the same vintage and it's even better. Still confected/manipulated sure, but less bitter this time, more vanilla and vague fruit. Great QPR for the insanely low price.
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1/15/2022 - Virescit Vulnere Virtus Likes this wine: 85 Points
Medium body, juicy, short notes, tart finish
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10/13/2021 - jonahfactor Does not like this wine:
It’s wine. Meh. Pass.
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