Winemaking: The 2004 Crimson was designed from the ground up to be an easy to drink wine. The kind of wine you enjoy for hours with a room full of friends without realizing that you are drinking good wine! The emphasis was on the fruit. For this reason, there was very little oak used on the base wines that went into the final blend. Cooperage: The Merlot used in this blend spent no time in barrel. The Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon both saw only three months in a combination of new American and neutral French oak.