California red blends rule panel picks
2016 Orin Swift Eight Years in the Desert
Overall score: 18.6 (9.1 for quality, 9.5 for value)
Our tasters: Gave it a unanimous recommendation with five scores of at least 9. “Ripe red fruit. Great minerality and tannic structure.” My score: 9.1. “Huge but balanced, layered wine. Grabs and won’t let go.” Varietal/blend: Zinfandel (56 percent), petite sirah (34), syrah (10). Alcohol: 15.7 percent. Winery/vineyards/winemaking: Orin Swift Cellars founder Dave Phinney was known early on as a zinfandel master and he has come full circle with this compelling zin-centric blend, which was aged for 10 months in French oak, 45 percent new. A trip to Florence in 1995 piqued Phinney’s interest in wine and, two years later after he had finished college, he took a temporary job at Robert Mondavi as a harvest worker. Hooked, he launched Orin Swift — a combination of his father’s middle name and his mother’s maiden name — with two tons of purchased zinfandel. The Prisoner, a big red blend that included zinfandel, became his flagship wine but was sold in 2010 and is currently owned by Constellation Brands. Winemaker notes: “Brawny on the entry, it has an equally big mid-palate with complex flavors of ripe brambly fruit, a touch of earth and notes of espresso bean. Still massive through to the finish with soft drying tannins, the unique varietal characteristics of the blend clearly reveal themselves over time.”
Critical acclaim: Wilfred Wong of wine.com awarded a score of 93.
Pairings: Red meat and pasta with red sauce. Aged cheddar and gouda cheese.
Price: $44.97 at Total Wine
2014 Pinea Ribero del Duero
I often stumble into wines that seduce my taste buds but haven’t passed through the official Chronicle tasting panel vetting process. This newcomer to the market gained a quick measure of acclaim when Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia chose to serve it at his Masters champions dinner in 2017. The byproduct of a longtime friendship between Mexican entrepreneurs Vicente Pliego and Hugo T. Del Pozzo, it’s 100 percent old-vine tempranillo sourced from some of the best sites and growers in the Ribero del Duero. It spends 30 months in new French oak (medium toast) before release. Pinea’s second wine, the “17,” is no slouch, either, and sells for far less ($40). The winemaker is Isaac Fernandez, who has attained rock-star status in the Spanish wine community on his own merits, although his uncle, Mariano Garcia, is a winemaking legend for reference-stander producer Vega Sicilia.
My score: 17.3 (9.3 for quality, 8 for value). “Gorgeous, complex, well-balanced wine. Fruit and tannins mingle harmoniously.” Winemaker notes: “On the palate it reveals classy elegance and balance with intensity of dark berry fruit and well-integrated oak notes, racy acidity and silky tannins with a long, savory finish.”
Critical acclaim: Wine Enthusiast awarded a score of 92 and designated it as a Cellar Selection.
Price: $149.99 at Houston Wine Merchant