Orin Swift : Abstract 2015

A Napa Valley Red Blend with Black Fruits and Spice

California-based winemaker Dave Phinney first fell in love with the wine world during his semester spent studying abroad in Florence, Italy. With experience gained working in Napa Valley at Robert Mondavi Winery and Whitehall Lane, Phinney decided to produce his very own wine, beginning with the 2000 vintage of his Prisoner cuvee. And thus, Orin Swift Cellars was born. Over the next few years, Phinney built up a portfolio of carefully selected vineyard plots, forming close relationships with the wine growers in the process. Phinney's portfolio of wines today includes a wide range of different styles, made with grapes sourced from sites chosen by Phinney himself. Each of these wines has an intriguing story to tell, communicated in the glass as well as on the bottle through a creative and artistic label. The Abstract 2015 by Orin Swift is a blend of Grenache, Petite Sirah and Syrah. In a vintage characterized by extreme dought and low yields, around 150 base wines were created and carefully tasted. Only the very best were chosen to go into this blend. The label, a collage of over 230 images collected by Phinney over the years, is meant to represent how many individual pieces, though incomplete on their own, can come together to form a final blend of great complexity. The wine was matured for 10 months in French oak barrels, of which 35% was new.

In the glass, the Abstract 2015 by Orin Swift displays an intense, inky color with a purple ring. Aromas of Luxardo cherries, raspberries and black plums appear immediately on the nose, along with hints of caramel, coffee, milk chocolate, graphite and freshly cracked black pepper. Full-bodied and bold in the mouth, notes of zesty fruit and smoky meat come through, remaining on the palate through a long, lingering finish. To drink now or keep through 2022.