Orin Swift 8 Years in Desert 2016

$124.99
$118.74

SKU 268

750ml

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Winemaker’s Notes:

Dark garnet with a lucid rim, the wine exhibits aromas of briar fruit, ripe blackberry and dark plum with a tinge of minerality and charred meat. Brawny on the entry, it has an equally big mid-palate with complex flavors of ripe brambly fruit, a touch of earth and notes of espresso bean. Still massive through to the finish with soft drying tannins, the unique varietal characteristics of the blend clearly reveal themselves over time.

AVAs: 87% Dry Creek Valley, 13% Red Hills Lake County

Blend: 56% Zinfandel, 34% Petite Sirah, 10% Syrah


Category Red Wine
Varietals
Country California
Region Napa Valley
Appellation St Helena
Brand Orin Swift
Alcohol/vol 15.7%
  • wa94+

Wine AdvocateDeep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Zinfandel Blend Eight Years (a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Syrah) comes bounding out of the glass with notes of raspberry pie, blackberry preserves and fruitcake with touches of hoisin and Chinese five spice plus and waft of underbrush. Full-bodied, rich and spicy in the mouth, it packs in the black fruit preserves, framed by chewy tannins and finishing on a savory note. 2,600 cases were made.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, March 29, 2018

New Arrivals 9/14/18

Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir 2015
Winery Notes: The bouquet possesses a lovely mix of richness, fruit and savory like blackberry pie; quite comforting. On the palate we find intriguing hints of pink rose, briar, red currant, violets and spice; this Pinot has an alluring silky texture with deep flavors of black cherry, baking spice and a whisper of licorice. It's nicely structured and lingers beautifully on the finish.
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Goldeneye Pinot Noir 2015
Winemaker Notes : Combining the lush fruit of our warmer Anderson Valley estate vineyards with the rustic elegance of grapes from the cooler “deep end” of the valley. This is a rich and beautifully textured Pinot Noir with velvety tannins and bright acidity. On the palate, flavors of candied cherry and dark plum are underscored by deeper notes of forest floor. The finish is long and supple, with lively fruit and just a touch of French oak.
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Roar Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2016
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Walter Hansel The Meadows Vineyard Chardonnay 2015
This is a new vineyard designated offering from 100% Hanzell Selection grown in a low-land Meadow contiguous to the Santa Rosa Creek. It is dry farmed each year and requires extensive shoot and crop thinning due to extremely fertile conditions. The result has underlining tropical flavors and is the most tropical of any of the Walter Hansel chardonnays.
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Jax Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
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Domaine des Bosquets La Colline Gigondas 2016
Winery Notes: The inaugural vintage of La Colline was in 2013, not an auspicious year   for Grenache, but this site planned high in the Dentelles in 1975 weathered  the inclement Spring weather well. The soils here are rocky, clay limestone  with a high chalk content making for wines that are rich with exceedingly  fine tannins.
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Domaine de la Charbonniere Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2016
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Paul Lato Le Souvenir Sierra Madre Vineyard 2016
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Benovia La Pommeraie 2015
Winemaker Notes : This extraordinary single vineyard Pinot Noir gives an immediate impression of depth and concentration in the glass, with remarkably explosive aromas of dark plum and boysenberry. The palate is viscous and rich, yet light on its feet, with fine polished tannins and an exceptionally balanced acidity. Whole clusters were once again included in the fermentation - to give the wine a broader mouthfeel. Although delicious upon release, we expect this wine to improve with cellaring for 6-8 years from vintage date.
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C. Beck Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Winemaker Notes: Sourced from the Barlow vineyard, our wine has a nose of ripe black cherry and sweet vanilla. The palate is soft and luscious with flavors of dark plum and blackberry. Finishing with soft supple tannins. 244 cases produced. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Walter Hansel Cuvée Alyce Pinot Noir 2015
Winery Notes: Alyce was my Mom and she was the life of the party. There is a section of vineyard right in the middle of the North slope where the soils are very heavy adobe clay resulting in the vines struggling to produce a crop more than 1 ton to the acre. It is a field blend of clone 777 and 115. This minimal crop yield tends to produce wines that are big, rich, "over the top" flavors; perfect for "Alyce"
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Rivers-Marie Panek Vineyard 2016
Winery Notes: Better informed farming continues to elevate not just the blocks in this bottling but also all the blocks we harvest at Panek. It makes our blending decisions more difficult each year but that extra work is certainly worth the extra quality in a wine like this 2016. The vineyard does best in muscular years so this version reminds me more of the 2013 as opposed to the 2014 or 2015. There’s more apparent fruit than in the 2013 to stand up to the structure of the vintage. This wine has calmed considerably during its last 6 or so months in barrel. It was a bit brooding for the first year of its life (odd for Panek) but that character only hinted at the concentration contained within. Now that it has unwound a bit, the trademark brown sugar note has emerged but here joined by a blackberry/cassis note. Loamy black soil, dried herbs and sweet tobacco complete the experience by adding a strong sense of varietal character to the mix, another hallmark of the vintage. This is a structured Panek for sure but with all other great 2016s, there is a sense of balance across all components of the wine that provides good early drinkability.
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Keever Vineyards Inspirado 2013
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Krug Krug Rosé 21ème Édition NV
Winery Notes: Krug Rosé – a relatively recent addition to the House – is an   unexpected rosé Champagne combining distinction and boldness.  Inspired by the dream of the fifth generation of the House of Krug to  conceive a rosé Champagne that did not yet exist, every year a new  Édition of Krug Rosé is created. Krug Rosé 21ème Édition is a blend of 57 wines, the youngest of   which dates back to 2008 and the oldest to 2000. Krug Rosé is both unexpected and daring. It shows a broad and extensive aromatic palette, unusual for a Rosé Champagne.   As you taste Krug Rosé, you will discover harmonies of puff pastry and red-berry tart, which develop towards honey and citrus fruits.  Its floral accents and notes of dried or stewed fruit will enthral your palate. Its extreme delicacy is enhanced by the subtlety of its fine and elegant bubbles.
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