Mercury Head Cabernet Sauvignon is the flagship wine of Orin Swift and emphasises their guiding principle: Without quality grapes, great wine is impossible. It comes from the best lots from very select vineyards in Napa Valley and the wine is a testament to those vineyards, to their principle and to what is possible in Napa Valley. The Liberty Dime on each bottle symbolises winemaker Dave Phinney's favorite coin in his collection growing up and his most prized possession.

6 * Orin Swift Mercury Head 2021

Vivino Rating: 4.6 (Feb 2024)

Wine Press Ratings

95 Points - The Wine Independent

Taste

An almost-black, opaque garnet core sits in the glass with slow-moving tears falling down the sides. Immediate aromatic notes of ripe cassis, charred ribeye, sandalwood and freshly cut oak pilferbreathe deeper for more. The first sip is a complex, layered conundrum of blackberry, black plum, fennel, liquorice and dark chocolate. More sips peel back the layers to reveal a rich and balanced wine with a deep cassis core. A sweet linger on the finish closes the wine with softly textured chalky tannins.

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.