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Winemaker’s blending skills may be key to success

September 17, 2022

So far, we’ve escaped most of the weather disasters this summer/hurricane season. The wine-producing regions in the U.S. West, Midwest and much of Europe were hammered. Serious drought and heat waves during the growing season have cooled down due to rain brought in from hurricanes to southern Cali and much of Euroland during harvesting seasons. Heat and drought have a big effect on ripening, acidity and juice volume. Rain at harvest is our enemy. I’ll keep you posted.

Orin Swift wines are worth revisiting. The name is Dave Phinney’s homage to parents – mom’s maiden name Swift and Orin from dad’s middle name. Prior to founding OS, Dave made a winemaker reputation in Napa at such as Mondavi and Whitehall Lane. It was the combination of his marketing ploy of using labels from famous artists, similar to Chateau Mouton among others, plus buying juice from well-regarded but relatively lesser-known vineyards in Rutherford and Oakville, and his top-flight blending skills, which allowed him to produce an array of excellent varietal products at very reasonable prices. One example is his purchasing Cabernet Sauvignon from Morisoli Vineyards, Scarecrow’s next-door neighbor, for the initial production of Mercury Head. Labels you may be familiar with are The Prisoner, Papillon, Mercury Head and Abstract. Phinney sold “the rights, label only,” in 2010 to Huneeus Vintners for his The Prisoner, drawn by Goya, after taking The Prisoner from 365 to 75,000 cases. The label was sold again to Constellation in 2016. They sold the brand, tasting room and inventory to Gallo, also in 2016. Dave still owns Orin Swift. He has added Locations Wine, following a similar production format in diverse locales in France, Italy, Spain, Argentina, California, Oregon and Washington. Some of today’s info was purloined from Inside Winemaking. Their podcasts are interviews direct from a large selection of winemakers; go here: insidewinemaking.com/029

OK, so here’s the deal. You can still buy Mercury Head 2014, rated 94-96 points by nearly everyone, under $140/bottle, and big-buck buckaroos can find a case at $1,438. It’s in the heart of its window with at least 10 years left. Comparable Napa Cab is priced $250-plus. Dark violet/garnet-colored, a complex bouquet of currant, plum, cherry with old leather, dust and chocolate, and barrel-driven back notes. Aromas repeat on the palate with proper balancing acidity and tannic support through an elegant finish. If you enjoy Rutherford Dust in a finish, go here. Adding Locations Wine has the salubrious effect of sampling Phinney’s blending skills at bargain prices. Blenders aren’t limited by needing to move their self-grown juice or constrained by site-specific labeling. Think of them as wine chefs, shopping for the best ingredients available, then creating a whimsical product that highlights the best characteristics they detect. These have a nontraditional label. Large capitalized letters denote place of origin and a number describes which batch rather than a vintage designation, e.g., Locations E-5 is a Spanish Red Blend (Espana) of Garnacha, Tempranillo, Monastrell and Carignan, barrel aged 10 months, findable around $16 (less at Costco), 91 McD. Plum, black cherry, barrel spice of white pepper and vanilla nuance. On the palate, plum and cherry repeat, as do the barrel notes, and add in some leathery hints. Appealing, pleasing, long, dry finish. Some raters have an issue that we can’t compare batches because they may be made of an entirely different blend of varietal selections. Phinney says it’s “wine made from grapes grown across regions and appellations in order to get a quality final product that is unrestrained by conventional winemaking rules.” Spain has some of the most onerous, limiting regs of all winemaking countries. Think of it as the joy of lower slower spring-fresh peas, shad roe, crabs, peaches, white corn, tomatoes, oysters, geese and venison, etc., which local chefs in the know only serve in season.

Not wishing to tread on Bob the Foodie’s bailiwick, but we enjoyed an excellent dinner with a couple of longtime friends last Sunday. A diverse selection menu with delightful presentation and generous, delicious portions; the service was friendly, attentive and efficient, and both menu and representative wine list were fairly priced, at Barbara and Jack Royal’s Cedar Land + Sea Kitchen on Cedar Neck Road, Ocean View; 96 McD.

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