94 Points - Decanter. After an enforced eight-year break in the early 2010s, where they were prohibited from making Zinfandel, Orin Swift Cellars delved into various grape varieties in California to great success. The 2021 vintage of Eight Years in the Desert is the fifth instalment of a rare and cherished wine. This exceptional Zinfandel boasts a deep maroon core and opens with captivating aromas of wild blackberry, pepper, oatmeal raisin cookie, forest floor, bay leaf, and spices. The taste is rich and opulent, featuring brambly raspberry, black cherry, ripe blueberry, and a touch of cacao. It finishes with ripe tannins and sweet oak notes.

Vivino Rating 4.3 (Apr 2024)

Wine Press Ratings

94 Points - Decanter

"Overflowing with ripe, dusty red berry fruit, vanilla-tinged, turning to blueberry and revealing dried spices and a sandalwood touch. Full-bodied, silky and deeply fruited at first sip, turning to mixed berry compote, balanced by grippy tannins. This is juicy, and even at this alcohol level, its balanced and long."

92 Points - Robert Parker

"There are almost 50,000 cases of the 2021 Zinfandel Blend 8 Years in the Desert, a mix of Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Grenache. Mixed raspberries, blackberries and blueberries appear on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied, ripe and supple, yet with just enough softly dusty tannins, a velvety texture and no suggestion of raisined fruit. With its amiable nature and fresh, lingering finish, it should win lots of fans. Best After 2023"

Tasting Notes

A deep maroon core with a ruby rim, the 2021 Eight Years in the Desert opens with aromas of wild blackberry, pepper, oatmeal raisin cookie, Sequoia forest floor, bay leaf and spices. The entry is broad and opulent with a mid-palate of brambly raspberry, black cherry, ripe blueberry and a hint of cacao. The wine has superb length through the finish with ripe tannins and a close of sweet oak.

About the Producer

The history of Orin Swift Cellars dates back to 1995 when on a lark, David Swift Phinney took a friend up on an offer and went to Florence, Italy to spend a semester studying. During that time, he was introduced to wine, how it was made, and got hooked. A few more years of university led to graduation and eventually a job at Robert Mondavi Winery in 1997 as a temporary harvest worker. Deciding that if he was going to work this hard, it would eventually have to be for himself, he founded Orin Swift Cellars in 1998; Orin is his fathers middle name and Swift is his mothers maiden name. With two tons of zinfandel and not much else, he spent the next decade making wine for others as well as himself and grew the brand to what it is today.