TN: 2010 Orin Swift Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes D66--WHAT was I thinking?

WINE TALK
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  • 2010 Orin Swift Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes D66 - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes (4/21/2013)
    The guy at my LWS gave me a discount so I wouldn’t be mad at him after I drank it. I guess that should have been a clue…
    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.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Haven’t had this one, but I did taste the F1 from the same producer and one taste was enough. No balance, hot and heavy, nothing of interest.

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Not to give you a hard time, but why would you buy anything from Orin Swift when you have a store full of people who don’t make The Prisoner? What drew you to this bottle?

Wow, it seems fairly popular on CellarTracker. Most of the notes make me want to spread it on toast.