Clear light ruby color. Funky nose. Sauerkraut. Skunk cabbage, lemon and a bit of gym locker. Taste: Almonds, dry. Hint of raspberry and strawberry. Very enjoyable. A little bit of grip in an otherwise smooth finish.

If you try to avoid Cabernets with too much oak and that are so grippy that that you feel that you are taking bites out of a pink eraser, then this wine will keep you just short of that zone. (Hey, those erasers are cool after all) It smells a little oaky and tilts toward the rubbery, but it never pushes too far in either direction and isn't too sour. It's smooth enough and has just enough cherry tasting fruit to keep you in the game. If you always wished that Eberhard Faber had released a subtle Vintner's Reserve, you may want to check this one out.

Earthy nose. Hint of candy grape and Magic Marker hanging in the background. Hot smelling. Comes across as a dark, opaque full bodied wine prior to tasting. Has a sharpness to it's flavor. Ocean salts. Tight range. Pistacio. Almost indistinguishable cherry fruit is present, but behind layers of fermentation. Rhone-like food wine. Very nice.

OK, My Amtrak was two hours late 2 days before XMAS and I have a warmish can of Sofia Blanc de Blanc. It has that sparkling wine bouquet right after you pop the top. I'm going to try it without the straw first. It does have a bit of essence d'can - just in case you thought that part would disappear. While it pushes the necessary Champagne buttons and I'm sure it sails along chilled, there is something 'cold cut-esque' about it - like the after-taste of a fine prosciutto. Not in a bad way. Kind of interesting, actually. Pearlized, wine-colored straw deployed. BTW they really should make the Blanc de Blanc cans green instead of red. Maybe, I spent too much time staring at Lancers bottles. All I can say about the straw is: sneaky. Given the bubbles, I feel like I've just engaged the the high school Schlitz power-up. The sweetness is more prominent through the straw and the prosciutto is heading toward Peking Duck. The convenience of the can for the Blanc de Blanc in this format may be outweighed by its dependency on refrigeration to take it to the next level. This would shine if you pulled it out of your travel bag on a deserted island, but when you have a fridge and glassware nearby you might start to wonder whether you should have iced the prosecco instead.

Dark as night, burning cornfields nose. More stony earth than I would have expected in a Cabernet. You also pick up a 'bottle turning' heat. As in 'hmmmm, I see, 14.5%'. Smells almost like a flinty Pinot Noir with the dials turned past 11. Hint of vanilla and a little bit of amped vegetation - cacao bean. Wow. Big wine. Initially dry, then the mid-palate registers menthol like complexity and suggests that you ought to pay attention because the fruit is being ushered to the finish. That is where the bigness arrives - blammo - sturdy, blackberry, woody complexity without too much oak. Smooth, commanding mouthfeel. If wine had to send just one representative to the Jaws of Fire, End of the Millennium, Apocalyptic Hero Challenge and the future of all Vinekind were on the line, there is a good chance it would pick this CrauforD on sheer power alone. Wine 92, prisoners 0.

Inviting buttery yeasty nose. Fresh chicory. Spicy salad greens up front. Full, nice sturdy mouthfeel. Thunder cherry fruit. Those are like regular cherries, but bigger, ten times as dark and powerful. Allspice also coming through. A good Holiday choice. A little bite in the finish with wooden choppers. Very enjoyable.

Faiveley Pinot Noirs (I think this was the last vintage under Pierre Morey's watch - citation needed) have crazy stone noses. Rock. A flavor that is the ruby equivalent of liquid limestone. Regal, take no prisoners dryness with just enough pomegranate jewels to give it a claim on fruit. Solid as a cornerstone.

Nose: Oak, salty, sour cherry. Juicy mouth-feel, red licorice, un-lit cigar tobacco and meringue flavors. 14.5% has a sneaky impact and does color the overall taste experience. If it weren't so fermented, I would call it fruity but the heat puts it into the category of 'juice forward'. Wishing it had a little more of the sour bite suggested by the nose.

Nose: Pine, cherry and oak. Pleasing full bodied wine. Wakes up your whole palate. Very refined mouthfeel. A little spunky. Like taking delivery of a new piece of furniture from the finest woodworker in town. This wine is transcending description and moving on to higher levels. But I'll try to wrestle it back to earth. The French may try to annex the northern half of Italy so that they can claim this as one of their own Pinot Noirs. Bright and thorough mid-palate and finish. Not a lot of terroir - just sort of a cherry ambrosia floating cloud-like above the earth.