Orin Swift Palermo 2014 750 ml

Rating: 91 Price ($) $ Drink Date 2016 – 2031 Reviewed by Robert M. Parker, Jr. Issue Date 28th Oct 2016 Source 227, The Wine Advocate I tasted three Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines from Orin Swift. The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Palermo, all Napa Valley fruit and a blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon with a little Merlot and Malbec, was aged only 10 months in 35% new French oak. Bottled early to accentuate its fruit, this wine has soft, low-acid flavors, plenty of crème de cassis, chocolate and tobacco leaf, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel and a long finish. It should drink well for the next 10-15 years, perhaps longer. Orin Swift is the brainchild of a brilliant young man by the name of Dave Phinney. His Midas touch with grapes from seemingly anywhere in the world, is unusual, but the brilliance of the wines, his creativeness and unparalleled blending talents have built an incredible portfolio right out of the gate. He only started Orin Swift in 1998 and just recently sold it to the huge Gallo enterprise. Readers looking for personality filled wines of considerable character and complexity need to check out the Orin Swift offerings. They are not shy wines in any respect, but the quality is obvious, and if you are like me and believe that a wine is to be judged on just how delicious it is, you will be as impressed as I have been with the Orin Swift products.