Box & Dice Question

[Mahmoud Ali]

I have seen quite a few mentions of Box and Dice on this forum, both their varietal wines and as a cellar door visit recommendation. I just saw, on line, that a retailer here in the local market have a couple of bottles of a Box and Dice red blend called Kit & Kaboodle. What style of wine is it and is it any good?

They've knocked a few dollars off the price, from C$29 down to C$22. Any thoughts offered would be appreciated.

Thanks ...................... Mahmoud.

[Scotty vino]

a def food wine . I've had past iterations but as you can see it changes vintage to vintage in terms of blend% and grape varietal..
I guess the question is which vintage are you looking at?

Bit of HW from the AB&D site.

2017
MONTEPULCIANO: 80%
GRENACHE: 10%
CABERNET SAUVIGNON: 10%
LOOKS LIKE Beetroot juice.
SMELLS LIKE Cherries, Grandma’s perfume,
crushed herbs, hibiscus.
TASTES LIKE Earth, chocolate, coffee,
cherries, cranberries.
DRINK WITH Turkey, roast chicken, pigeon,
goose, pork, stirfry tofu.

2018
TEMPRANILLO: 69%
CABERNET SAUV: 14%
MONTEPULCIANO: 9%
SHIRAZ: 8%
LOOKS LIKE Dark beetroot.
SMELLS LIKE Plum, eucalypt, earthy
funk, betroot, cranberries,
chocolate, coffee and spice.
TASTES LIKE Light-yet-heavy, earthy-yet clean, youthful-yet-old,
rich-yet-soft. Dark fruits.
DRINK WITH Beef and BBQ meats,
burgers and bar snacks.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Thanks Scottie.

That it is a food wine is good news, and based on the descriptors above I think I would prefer the 2018 blend. The retailers website doesn't list the vintage so I will have to call them to find out. In any case it sounds like I ought to take a punt on at least a bottle regardless of the vintage - they only have two. I have to go to the store sometime soon as I need to pick up a couple of specialty rums that they have on hold for me.

By the way, also of interest at the store is a South African Cinsault by Naude, again of unknown vintage. A single varietal Cinsault is a rarity. I have Carignan in my cellar but no Cinsault so I feel that I must make amends.

Cheers ........................ Mahmoud.

[mychurch]

I've only tried a couple of their wines Mahmoud - a 16 Dolcetto and a translucent '17 Grenache. Both drunk in a bar and the both times I have written "great pub wine". I take that to mean, soft, round and easy drinking. Not sure if it was the sign of a pub picking the best wines for their cliental, or a sign of the house wine making.

[Mahmoud Ali]

I called the store to reserve a bottle and found out that it is a non-vintage bottling. Intrigued, I decided to take both bottles. He thought the wines have been in the store for a couple of years.

[Mahmoud Ali]

I finally picked up the Kit & Kaboodle and indeed it is a non-vintage wine. The main back label says "Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile. This furphy is crammed full of fanciful tales and improbable stories. Even Banjo couldn't control this ass!" It also gives the lot number (L-NV-K-01) and a dotcom address.

A second, smaller back label is concealed by an overlaid importer label (Great Australian Wine Company, Calistoga, California) where it states, in fine print, that it is a non-vintage red wine blend, 14.5% alcohol, produced by Viottolo Pty. Ltd., Olivers Road, Mclaren Vale, the usual Government Warning that is required in the US. I've no idea if the blend is mentioned on the concealed label.

I notice that Cellartracker lists vintages from 2009, 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2018. Since the AB&D website has the 2017 (sold out) and 2018 listed, I presume the NV must have preceded them, either between 2014 and 2017, or between 2011 and 2014, or between 2009 and 2011, or before 2009.

One more thing, both the 2017 and 2018 tech sheet have a bold "K" for kosher on it. Looking at the lot number L-NV-K-01, we can see what the letters refer to but how about the 01. It could mean that it is a 2001 bottling or, their very first NV, though I am inclined to think the latter. I'll only know if they respond to my e-mail.

Cheers ....................... Mahmoud.