2021 | Orin Swift | Mercury Head Cabernet Sauvignon

An almost-black, opaque garnet core sits in the glass with slow-moving tears falling down the sides. Immediate aromatic notes of ripe cassis, charred ribeye, sandalwood and freshly cut oak pilfer — breathe deeper for more. The first sip is a complex, layered conundrum of blackberry, black plum, fennel, licorice and dark chocolate.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Winemaker Dave Phinney expects to bottle a bit more than 6,000 cases of the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Mercury Head, what he calls a "typical volume" for it. Sourced from a couple of well-known valley floor sites and the Stagecoach Vineyard (sometimes a bit of Monte Rosso Vineyard fruit makes it in the blend as well) and aged 13 months in 58% new oak, the nose offers up hints of menthol and cedar over a base of ripe cassis and cherries. It's full-bodied and velvety in the mouth, while a hint of dark chocolate creeps in on the lengthy finish.

Producer Information

Orin Swift Cellars is trailblazing Californian wine brand, going from a tiny production project to an empire of wines distributed across the world. The distinctively packaged The Prisoner wine became a huge 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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