Briary and tar notes in beginning, fruit dominant middle. Mild tannins. Moderate acid. A little overly sweet for food. Typical American ballance. Tasty.
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Decanted for 30 minutes. Grassy, fruity nose but too fruit forward as it first crossed the palate for my taste. A bit of complexity into the finish with some mint and herbs. Not much acidity or tannins to work with. Drink it now.
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Big and bold on the nose on a PnP and even after an hour in a decanter. The nose is like blueberry pie. Sweet and fulfilling. High alcohol content and high acidity give this a hot feel on the palate. Plum and blueberry dominate but there are strong notes of dark chocolate. The fruit flavour lasts long on the finish.
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Tasted at a friend's house. I can see why some people like this wine. If you are in the RP camp, like "loud" music, and think bigger is better, this is a wine for you. Dark, viscous, and mouthfilling, full of blueberry and cassis flavor, this wine hits hard from the first sip. High alcohol and low acid makes it a solo sipper rather than a food wine. Long-ish aftertaste completes the experience. I suspect a healthy dose of mega-purple was in my glass. I couldn't finish it, but plenty of other people were happy to drink it. My personal score would be much lower than the 83 I'm giving it, but it technically is well-made because it is exactly what it was meant to be.
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The wine looks crimson colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, black currant (cassis) and mineral. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
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Fruity nose of blackberries, black currants, oak, vanilla, licorice, cloves, chocolates, tobacco, cola, espresso, spice box, cinnamon, earth, light vegetables, pencil lead and peppercorn.
Full bodied and bold with medium acidity and long legs.
Dry and extremely fruity on the palate with blackberries, plums, cherries, currants, oak, spices, earth, vanilla, licorice, cloves, light vegetables, alcohol, cola, cinnamon and peppercorn.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.
This is a wonderful Grenache blend from the house of Orin Swift. Fruity, big, rich, spicy and interesting.
Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up and shows some tannins (1 hour). After 3 hours in the decanter, the nose really opened up, so be patient with this young wine.
Needs a few years in the bottle to mature properly.
Good by itself or with food. A great sipping wine by the porch or with friends.
I paired it with a nice, juicy burger.
A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Petite Sirah. Aged in French oak barrels for 8 months (30% new).
15.1% alcohol by volume.
94 points.
$35.
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I agree with the other reviewer who said something along the lines that "this wine is a high alcohol hot mess." In my opinion this is mostly marketing and not worth the price. I'm chagrined this is my first review for Cellar Tracker and that's the bottle that gets it. Promise more positives for future pours.
P: Med body; Very RNDISH entry with NICE, ALMOST swtish frt (threshold R.S.?) met by a puckerish astringency which somewhat works itself out by the LONG, balanced finish with a BITTER/swtness (60:40) to the firming, dusty tannins. NEEDS 12-18 for, hopefully, the bitterness to resolve. IF that happens, my VG/VG+ will be low. 91 pts WA (1/31/19) & 90 WS (4/30/19). [This vendor's $29.99 puts it in the TOP 15% of wine-searcher's MASSIVE # of postings.]
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The people that score this type of wine as an 80, 82, 86 either drink way too much on the $100+ bottle range or have no idea how to score a wine rating. For $30, this wine is a solid 90 based on actual tasting guidelines. I hate when people have no clue and even worse when management of this app has no clue to fix the problem. Time for a change?
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Not a great selection while stuck at JFK airport but this was not too bad. Big upfront fruit, a little livorice, big alcohol and that’s about it. Goes down easy. Appreciate it for what it is!
A wine that you pop when your in the mood for something big, juicy, ripe, and not in the mood to think about whats in your glass.
Dark, ripe, sweet black fruit. Hints of cocoa and sweet baking spices. Not too complex and has a medium finish. Grenache, Syrah, Petite Sirah. Full bodied. 15.1% ABV
This wine gets the job done on a chilly night smoking cigar while enjoying a nice conversation.
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I had this wine at a restaurant on a day with half-off wine by the bottle. Tnank goodness since the wine is 65 dollars on the list. This is a very simplistic fruit forward wine without much complexity or length. I did not know anything about it when I was drinking it, but would have pegged it in the 10-15 dollar range. In my opinion, the Pessimist (for example) is twice as good for half the price. At over 30 dollars retail, you need to offer more than this wine does. Not sure how it scored a 91 with RP.
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Ce vin là résume parfaitement mon problème général avec les vins californiens.
Puissant, aux larges épaules, l'attaque tannique combat sans cesse le fruit qui essaie de s'exprimer dans un substrat de forte viscosité, très mûr et quasi cuit. La finale ne parvient pas à cacher le taux d'alcool excessif (15% +) et la chauffe ressentie nous fait oublier ce qu'il y a de valable dans ce vin.
Il n'est pas vilain, mais... tellement capiteux qu'on se demande quel repas il faudra concocter qui ne sera pas occulté ou abattu par ce vin à la carrure énorme. Bien sûr, le temps ne manquera pas de l'assouplir, et celui-ci aura fort à faire dans ce cas...
Pas pour ma bouche. Étiquette fort originale.
NC.
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No doubt about what it's shooting for stylistically - it's an Orin Swift wine - but actually not quite as over the top as I had feared (as in, you could do worse). Thick, jammy black fruit, chocolate milkshake, and a little bit of lipsticky rose. Fills the mouth quickly with a big initial presence that peters off, and has a somewhat viscous texture. More acidity would be nice, but it doesn't completely fall apart. I have to admit I did enjoy the upfront fruit of this wine more than I thought I would as a postprandial sipper, this being not really a food wine, but it doesn't hold my interest enough for me to pay $30+ either.
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Very soft easy fruity Grenache, Syrah. This comes off just a bit much on the floral side for me with dinner and a hint more acidity might help, but otherwise a tasty easy wine at dinner. Not my favorite of the portfolio. Not an over the top fruit bomb, scarcely more subtle than that.
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2/29/2024 - JBoruvka Likes this wine:
Gifted
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5/1/2023 - jkoenen wrote: 92 Points
In the zone now.
Very nice.
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4/11/2022 - Winesneauxb wrote:
4.3
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2/16/2022 - mscdex wrote: 90 Points
Almost a perfume flavor. I liked it very much.
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11/21/2021 - Kraftmeg wrote: 75 Points
Was fruity and dark but nothing crazy.
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5/28/2021 - rlleigh wrote:
Family
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10/17/2020 - WhineNor Likes this wine: 90 Points
Briary and tar notes in beginning, fruit dominant middle. Mild tannins. Moderate acid. A little overly sweet for food. Typical American ballance. Tasty.
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10/9/2020 - jkoenen wrote: 89 Points
Forest-fruit liquour. If there is such a thing.
I thought this was pretty tasty, yet shallow and over-extracted. Mono-lithic.
Meh.
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10/9/2020 - wineloverla wrote:
very good...lots of sweet caramel notes.
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9/19/2020 - David 123 wrote: 92 Points
REALLY NICE. I love this wine. Soft and smoothe.
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4/5/2020 - Stevethebeav Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Orin Swift makes a lot of good wine. This isn't one of them.
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3/29/2020 - Swanywawa Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted for 30 minutes. Grassy, fruity nose but too fruit forward as it first crossed the palate for my taste. A bit of complexity into the finish with some mint and herbs. Not much acidity or tannins to work with. Drink it now.
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3/29/2020 - barrkel Likes this wine: 90 Points
Rich grenache fruit with a floral layer, a hint of mint and stemmy earthy greenness. Tannins very mild, oak mostly takes second seat to the fruit.
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3/8/2020 - Château de Farmer Does not like this wine: 79 Points
Big, clumsy, overripe and/or overextracted. This is not my style.
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2/29/2020 - MS86 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Big and bold on the nose on a PnP and even after an hour in a decanter. The nose is like blueberry pie. Sweet and fulfilling. High alcohol content and high acidity give this a hot feel on the palate. Plum and blueberry dominate but there are strong notes of dark chocolate. The fruit flavour lasts long on the finish.
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2/19/2020 - kstatejim Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted over an hour and some fruit showed through. It’s big and young but will be great in another year or two I expect
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1/24/2020 - Decanthor Likes this wine: 89 Points
Quite hot on PnP. Calmed down a bit after 30 minutes and fruit was able to shine. As others have stated, this is full throttle, but well made.
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1/24/2020 - eyewino wrote: 83 Points
Tasted at a friend's house. I can see why some people like this wine. If you are in the RP camp, like "loud" music, and think bigger is better, this is a wine for you. Dark, viscous, and mouthfilling, full of blueberry and cassis flavor, this wine hits hard from the first sip. High alcohol and low acid makes it a solo sipper rather than a food wine. Long-ish aftertaste completes the experience. I suspect a healthy dose of mega-purple was in my glass. I couldn't finish it, but plenty of other people were happy to drink it. My personal score would be much lower than the 83 I'm giving it, but it technically is well-made because it is exactly what it was meant to be.
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1/4/2020 - firstwefeast wrote: 85 Points
The wine looks crimson colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, black currant (cassis) and mineral. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
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1/2/2020 - Odedis.Wine.reviews Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark ruby in color with a purplish rim.
Fruity nose of blackberries, black currants, oak, vanilla, licorice, cloves, chocolates, tobacco, cola, espresso, spice box, cinnamon, earth, light vegetables, pencil lead and peppercorn.
Full bodied and bold with medium acidity and long legs.
Dry and extremely fruity on the palate with blackberries, plums, cherries, currants, oak, spices, earth, vanilla, licorice, cloves, light vegetables, alcohol, cola, cinnamon and peppercorn.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.
This is a wonderful Grenache blend from the house of Orin Swift. Fruity, big, rich, spicy and interesting.
Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up and shows some tannins (1 hour). After 3 hours in the decanter, the nose really opened up, so be patient with this young wine.
Needs a few years in the bottle to mature properly.
Good by itself or with food. A great sipping wine by the porch or with friends.
I paired it with a nice, juicy burger.
A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Petite Sirah. Aged in French oak barrels for 8 months (30% new).
15.1% alcohol by volume.
94 points.
$35.
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12/24/2019 - bigbass250 Likes this wine:
Christmas Eve zin
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12/14/2019 - AllRed wrote: 89 Points
Walk around format, brief note. Big and juicy. Lots of dark fruit; full-throttle. Fairly well-balanced for its size.
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12/6/2019 - pvewino Likes this wine: 90 Points
Surprisingly good. Worth getting again.
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12/4/2019 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Concentrated and kinda heavy. Short finish.
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11/17/2019 - throberts3 Does not like this wine: 79 Points
I agree with the other reviewer who said something along the lines that "this wine is a high alcohol hot mess." In my opinion this is mostly marketing and not worth the price. I'm chagrined this is my first review for Cellar Tracker and that's the bottle that gets it. Promise more positives for future pours.
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11/14/2019 - srh Likes this wine:
Taste Orin Swift Wines by Dave Phinney (San Diego Wine Co.): Supposedly barrel aged for 8 mos in FR oak (30% new); 15.1% ABV; [Somewhere in the range of 38-44,000 cases produced, depending upon your source of info;]
N: RIPE berries with choc, poss some smoke
P: Med body; Very RNDISH entry with NICE, ALMOST swtish frt (threshold R.S.?) met by a puckerish astringency which somewhat works itself out by the LONG, balanced finish with a BITTER/swtness (60:40) to the firming, dusty tannins. NEEDS 12-18 for, hopefully, the bitterness to resolve. IF that happens, my VG/VG+ will be low. 91 pts WA (1/31/19) & 90 WS (4/30/19). [This vendor's $29.99 puts it in the TOP 15% of wine-searcher's MASSIVE # of postings.]
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11/11/2019 - swade wrote: 80 Points
Gifted from friend. Long legs, high alcohol. Big wine, but not distinct. Not particularly flavorful or aromatic. I would not buy this myself. 80
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10/30/2019 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
That is a hot alcoholic mess. Ugh. Tough to get down.
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10/25/2019 - Chambourcin17 wrote: 96 Points
Subtle dark cocoa nose. Complex but not overpowering. Very nice.
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10/10/2019 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 86 Points
2019 Hennepin Lake Charity Event (Minneapolis, MN): This is better than the last abstract I sampled. Floral, ripe cherry, blueberries and spices. A bit hot on the finish but drinkable.
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10/3/2019 - Birkmeier wrote: 90 Points
The people that score this type of wine as an 80, 82, 86 either drink way too much on the $100+ bottle range or have no idea how to score a wine rating. For $30, this wine is a solid 90 based on actual tasting guidelines. I hate when people have no clue and even worse when management of this app has no clue to fix the problem. Time for a change?
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9/27/2019 - I Decant Even Likes this wine:
2017 is good if decanted for 1 hour+
2018 should be aged for 3ish years
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9/17/2019 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 87 Points
Not a great selection while stuck at JFK airport but this was not too bad. Big upfront fruit, a little livorice, big alcohol and that’s about it. Goes down easy. Appreciate it for what it is!
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9/6/2019 - ssoard Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very smooth. Bright fruit.
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8/17/2019 - EricZ wrote: 80 Points
This bottle did get warm while sitting in a car so I can't give an accurate score at this time. Will repurchase to try it fresh.
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8/3/2019 - Deryck Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good wine, not overly complex. Good red fruit flavors; open and enjoy.
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7/20/2019 - Mattypoto57 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Hands down my favorite Phinney. Lucious and rich. Cocoa and coffee flavors. Chewy tannins at the end.
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3/24/2019 - Coconnell2001 wrote:
Delicious red blend, tastes close to the nickel and nickel Han vineyard. Very drinkable on its own.
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3/21/2019 - CleverCorkage Likes this wine:
A wine that you pop when your in the mood for something big, juicy, ripe, and not in the mood to think about whats in your glass.
Dark, ripe, sweet black fruit. Hints of cocoa and sweet baking spices. Not too complex and has a medium finish. Grenache, Syrah, Petite Sirah. Full bodied. 15.1% ABV
This wine gets the job done on a chilly night smoking cigar while enjoying a nice conversation.
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3/20/2019 - garymouton wrote: 82 Points
I had this wine at a restaurant on a day with half-off wine by the bottle. Tnank goodness since the wine is 65 dollars on the list. This is a very simplistic fruit forward wine without much complexity or length. I did not know anything about it when I was drinking it, but would have pegged it in the 10-15 dollar range. In my opinion, the Pessimist (for example) is twice as good for half the price. At over 30 dollars retail, you need to offer more than this wine does. Not sure how it scored a 91 with RP.
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3/1/2019 - bourgogre Does not like this wine:
Ce vin là résume parfaitement mon problème général avec les
vins californiens.
Puissant, aux larges épaules, l'attaque tannique combat sans cesse le
fruit qui essaie de s'exprimer dans un substrat de forte viscosité, très mûr et quasi cuit.
La finale ne parvient pas à cacher le taux d'alcool excessif (15% +) et la chauffe ressentie nous fait oublier ce qu'il y a de valable dans ce vin.
Il n'est pas vilain, mais... tellement capiteux qu'on se demande quel repas il faudra concocter
qui ne sera pas occulté ou abattu par ce vin à la carrure énorme.
Bien sûr, le temps ne manquera pas de l'assouplir, et celui-ci aura fort à faire dans ce cas...
Pas pour ma bouche.
Étiquette fort originale.
NC.
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2/21/2019 - heythatslife wrote: 86 Points
No doubt about what it's shooting for stylistically - it's an Orin Swift wine - but actually not quite as over the top as I had feared (as in, you could do worse). Thick, jammy black fruit, chocolate milkshake, and a little bit of lipsticky rose. Fills the mouth quickly with a big initial presence that peters off, and has a somewhat viscous texture. More acidity would be nice, but it doesn't completely fall apart. I have to admit I did enjoy the upfront fruit of this wine more than I thought I would as a postprandial sipper, this being not really a food wine, but it doesn't hold my interest enough for me to pay $30+ either.
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12/14/2018 - cos65 wrote:
Very soft easy fruity Grenache, Syrah.
This comes off just a bit much on the floral side for me with dinner and a hint more acidity might help, but otherwise a tasty easy wine at dinner. Not my favorite of the portfolio. Not an over the top fruit bomb, scarcely more subtle than that.
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