I finally walked into the new Orin Swift tasting room in downtown St Helena yesterday. Tried every wine they poured. One wine stood out… apparently he bought a vineyard in Rousillion and it has 60-100 year old Grenache vines on it. Right before trying it I tried their California Grenache, which was pretty good also. Then I had this…
2012 Orin Swift D66 Grenache, Rousillion, France, $38
Deep purple color. Full-bodied. Huge, syrupy texture of black fruits and herbs, with tight minerality. Over the top ripeness, this was Port-like, even more so than his actual Port! Listed at 15.2% but I bet it is well north of that. Lots of residual sugar too. Huge flavor and hedonistic to the bone. If I was in a grumpy mood I might not like this wine, but I was totally taken by it yesterday. Easily the best Orin Swift I’ve ever had. I did not sense any heat, but the viscous nature might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Extremely extracted. In a blind lineup would probably obliterate many CdPs and most Grenaches I’ve had from the USA. For those who can tolerate this style only. If you are not sure you would like this, you might not. I was caught off guard and had never heard of this wine before. Frankly, I loved it. Sinful. And note the price. 95pts
I can see this leading to the kind of discussion everyone had over the 2012 Caymus Cab, but to me this has none of the oak issues that wine did. I really liked this even though these levels of ripeness are not what I aim for, myself. I am not sure this saw any new oak at all. I can just say right off the bat that if your goal is to be a member of the In Pursuit Of Balance group, you won’t like this at all.
interesting post. haven’t been in there in a while, but i somewhat enjoyed their mannequin white last time i had it.
to me, alcohol is akin to spicy food. some people are sensitive to spice/heat in food, some aren’t.
also, dave phinney is one of the nicest guys in the valley.
No doubt. I’ve yet to have one of their wines that I even remotely like. With many “popular” wines, I can at least wrap my brain around why they might be widely liked. Not so with these oaken cudgels.
Never heard of this wine, but based on your description and the sheet on their website, I’m not sure I’d like it. Over-riped and toasty/oaky is not really my stuff.
I’d like to know where this is produced, but couldn’t find any info. D66 is the name of the road there, but there are several in the region. Interested if you have any info on this.
While my palate aligns with Roy’s palate on many wines, I hated D66 with a white hot hatey hate.
4/21/2013 - I don’t like this wine: NR (Edit)
I am trying to keep an open mind about this wine in spite of the 15.2 % (wink wink) ABV. There is a faint whiff of the terroir of the region but I could not go much farther since the first sniff burned all the hair out of my nose. On the palate all I get is smoky, overripe black fruits with a green, bitter streak down the middle.
2 hours in–it just tastes like over extracted California wine. Don’t get me wrong, I really like many of those wines when they are actually from California, I just have a problem with this abandoning of a sense of place. What’s next, 15% Burgundy (with a generous dollop of Syrah added)?
Even ignoring the rejection of terroir, this wine is horribly out of balance. The alcohol is absolutely overwhelming. I have enjoyed many higher alcohol CdPs but this Grenache simply does not deliver for me. At least I have not used it as Drano; I have a morbid curiosity about the ending.
3+ hours–Just when I think it tastes like a modern, really ripe Southern French Grenache, I just get bitter, alcoholic heat on the finish.
When I was selling fruit to Dave (up until 2010) he told me about his vineyard purchase in France and how excited he was with the fruit from there. I really like Dave, but haven’t been a fan of his wines. I’ll have to get down there and try this one.
Glad you posted this here too. Gives people a chance to “vent”. I like the wines and most of the lineup. Lots of my friends with great palates do too. Some don’t and that’s fine too. Luckily there are all sorts of choices out there.
While the descriptors make me think I wouldn’t care for the wine, I’m generally happy to try almost anything. Frankly, I think that those who don’t occasionally push their boundaries are missing out, but that’s certainly their right.
Many people didnt like his wine the Prisoner-but when aged for 5 years or so, the fruit calms down and the wines are well balanced. I especially enjoyed the 2005 and 06
I joined the club and get Mercury Head, Machete, Papilion, Trigger Finger and Abstract. Ironically, D66 was my least favorite of the line up. I’m still waiting on my first delivery of Trigger Finger, so can’t compare the D66 to its California counterpart. Overall, I like the wines and find them a great value relative to similarly styled wines.
You definitely have to be a fan of the bruisers (e.g. SQN, Saxum, Big Napa Cabs), but these are a QPR for the category.
He sold Prisoner a few years back, but if you look at production numbers of the 05/06 and today, you’ll see a good reason for a fall of favor (here at WB at least). I remember quite liking the 05/06 as well.
I like big wines. A lot. Yet, I admit I gave up on Orin Swift around the 2010 vintage, even though his offerings were once amongst my favs. While not everything is “bad,” per se – though some of it most certainly is (Saldo) – value to quality ratio on even the better offerings, for me, just isn’t there anymore. The '05, '06, '07 and even '08 Prisoner were amongst our favorite wines, but the rapid decline with each subsequent vintage was stunning in its swift fall from grace. We just opened one of our remaining '09 Papillons in the past month. Fine and all, but one of the worst QPRs I’ve had in a long while. We’ve got some same vintage Mercury Head that I haven’t been even slightly impressed with, either.
If you’re looking for someone doing this big, brash style, with some balance, panache and a killer QPR, check out Herman Story. Everything I’ve ever tried of his? Ah. May. Zing. Including plenty of Grenache that blows the D66 out of the water.
This is why when I post TNs, I place such importance in describing the STYLE. I really believe people should have some idea what a wine is like apart from just flavor descriptors. The last thing I want it someone whose favorite wine is Rhys or Kutch buying this on my post.
Thanks for posting the note - and this follow up as well. Very cool indeed - and I can see how this wine is not for everyone, but would certainly appeal to many.
How might you compare it with, say, some of the Alto Mancayo grenaches? To me, most of those are ‘monsters’ as well, though the flavor profile would be different due to the use of American oak versus French (at least I think that’s true based on what I’ve read . . ).
I also find it interesting that this is huge and ripe - but you discuss black fruits instead of the more common red ones associated with the ripe examples of this variety - strawberries especially, but also cherry. Just an observation.
Do let me know next time you are down - I will make the drive down to Jim and Perry’s and we can BBQ it up right!
I have one 2009 and two 2010 I will send you. Gratis.
I used to love Orin Swift and still like the old style Papillon, Mercury Head and Machete I had/have in the cellar. But I have not bought those for a few years because the wines overall changed too much.
When I first got into wine I thought Prisoner was the best and took a few bottles with six or eight years on them to a tasting with one of the guys who has posted to this thread. I thought they were good until I tasted the wines other people brought. That weekend was the start of my obsession and the end of my retirement savings.
I think you absolutely succeeded in characterizing the style of the wine. While not my cup of tea, I’d be interested to try it just to see if I can pick up the minerality you describe, as I rarely detect it in wines of this style.
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While not my cup of tea, I’d be interested to try it just to see if I can pick up the minerality you describe, as I rarely detect it in wines of this style.