2019 | Orin Swift Cellars | Mercury Head Cabernet Sauvignon

The nose of the 2019 Mercury Head has a concentrated dose of that aroma along with some redcurrant, fresh thyme, sandalwood and garrigue. Profound, yet classic, the palate expresses blackberry and raspberry preserves, a touch of rhubarb and toffee with some black tea and licorice accents. A final hint of chocolate covered espresso bean and ultra-soft tannins frames the extensive finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: A barrel selection of the winery's best Cabernet, the backbone of the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Mercury Head comes from three vineyards: Stagecoach, Morisoli and Taplin-Lewelling. It's roughly similar in new-oak content to the rest of the Orin Swift wines, coming in at 43% new, enough to imprint hints of cedar on the cherry and cassis fruit. Full-bodied and silky, it's big, rich and concentrated, without being heavy, while finishing long and mouthwatering, with softly dusty tannins and a hint of warmth.

• James Suckling: Ripe, juicy and solidly built, with plum compote and blackberry paste flavors laced with licorice root, tar and sassafras notes. There's a pretty flash of violet through the finish, as the fruit pumps through.

Producer Information

Orin Swift Cellars is trailblazing Californian wine brands, going from a tiny production project to an empire of wines distributed across the world. The distinctively packaged 'The Prisoner' wine further becoming a commercial success. The company was founded by David Swift Phinney, who fell into wine on a trip to Italy during his college days. After graduating, he took a job at Robert Mondavi Winery as a harvest worker, before founding his own company in 1998. Orin is his father's middle name, while Swift is his mother's maiden name. Orin Swift's most well-known label is 'The Prisoner' – a wine made predominately from Zinfandel with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Charbono, Syrah, and Petite Sirah, sourced from all over Napa Valley. It was launched in 2003 with a mere 385 cases. It quickly became a cult wine, however, with its rich, fruit-forward profile, and striking label – a drawing of a prisoner by Spanish artist Goya. In 2010, Phinney sold The Prisoner label to Huneeus Vintners for an undisclosed sum. By this time, production had reached over 75,000 cases and was being distributed nationwide and internationally. As part of the sale, Phinney signed a non-competition agreement, undertaking not to make a return to Zinfandel production for eight years. His subsequent 8 Years in the Desert label – a Zinfandel-based wine released by Orin Swift in 2018 – was a direct reference to this period. By this stage, Orin Swift Cellars had been sold to California wine giant E&J Gallo in 2016, with Phinney staying on as winemaker. Wine giant Constellation Brands acquired The Prisoner from Huneeus in the same year. Orin Swift produces a number of other well-known labels, the most sought-after being the Mercury Head, a varietal Cabernet Sauvignon wine in a bottle adorned with silver-winged Mercury Head dimes that Phinney collected as a child. The dime was minted between the years 1916 to 1945, so the winery sources the coins from recycled bottles and brokers. The wine is known for selling out in a matter of days between club members and retailers. Additional labels include Papillon, a Bordeaux blend; Mannequin, a white blend mostly made from Chardonnay; Machete, a Petite Sirah blend with a lineup of twelve different racy labels; as well as several others. Many of Orin Swift's wine are limited to the winery's club members. Recently, Phinney bought 95 hectares (235 acres) of vineyard near the village of Maury in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. He built a winery called Department 66, and launched an old-vine Grenache-based wine called D-66 with the 2009 vintage. Phinney also established the Savage & Cooke distillery on Mare Island, Vallejo, some 35 miles (56km) north of San Francisco, in 2018.

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