Ripe Damson plum, vanilla extract, black forest cherry. Mulberry pie, cigar box, chocolate covered strawberry. A surprisingly succulent and seductive parade of blackberry preserves, licorice, and sarsaparilla booms with downright decadent richness as notes of tobacco, muddled mint, and menthol provide a range of intriguing smokey and herbal undertones. Impressions of tiramisu, café au lait, and red velvet graciously advance streaks of almost dessert-like opulence that are further bolstered by hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, and pretty baking spices. Wafts of iris and blooming violet gently impart layers of deep floral perfume that rise above subtle suggestions of loamy volcanic soil. Beautifully fruit forward, concentrated, and generous on both the nose and the palate while remaining unexpectedly lively and energetic; exhibiting impressive balance and structure within a presentation that is both delicious and deceptively serious. Medium plus in body with elevated tannin kept fresh by bright acidity. This 2018 Ibex Vineyard Merlot by Maker Wine is an impressively complex and delightfully premium canned red from Napa Valley.

Though it was once primarily seen as just an economical packaging method best suited for easily quaffable whites or rosés, canned wine is a rapidly expanding category that is no longer limited to just a small selection of simple summer sippers. This offering, crafted by Smith Devereaux using Merlot sourced from their estate Ibex Vineyard and canned by Maker Wine, is an outstanding example of how the diversity and quality of canned wine has changed for the better. This generously radiates a range of rich and ripe dark fruits beautifully complicated by warm baking spices, pleasant minty charm, beguiling floral tones, and an irresistable chocolaty edge. Though it may look unassuming, the juice inside this can is downright terrific and certainly warrants a try from anyone curious about what canned wine has to offer. Yum.