Orin Swift Mercury Head Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

Who is ‘Orin Swift’? Orin Swift is not a person. The name comes from Dave’s father’s middle name, Orin, and his mother’s maiden name, Swift.

Who is Dave Phinney? Dave Phinney is a person. He’s the Orin Swift founder, winemaker, creative director, and artistic force behind every bottle produced at OSC.

When was Orin Swift created? Orin Swift was established in 1998.

How did Orin Swift come to be? + get into winemaking? Though Dave grew up in California, it was in Italy where his obsession began. In 1995, what was originally billed as a semester studying abroad, turned into an immersion on all aspects of wine. By 1997, Dave was all in and landed his winery job at Robert Mondavi as a temporary harvest worker. He learned a lot, including that he wanted to make his own wine. The next year, with two tons of zinfandel and not much else, Orin Swift Cellars was born. 

The 2022 Mercury Head sits in the glass with an opaque garnet core and a dark cardinal rim as tinges of purple shimmer from within. The nose is chock-full of aromatics-blue fruits, blackcurrant, licorice, baking spices, lavender and crushed gravel. Paired with a flooding palate with tremendous yet balanced weight, notes of blackberry, dark chocolate, espresso bean and blue and black fruits reverberate. A blueberry reduction coupled with chalky tannins leads to a long finish with hints of Herbs de Provence.