Orin Swift Cellars Papillon 2021
A tale of juxtapositions, Papillon opens the door to any wine drinker.
Grape Varietals & Region: A Bordeaux-style red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Merlot a rare wine to fit all five varietals in one bottle sourced from long-time growers on both the Napa Valley floor and surrounding hillsides, California.
Taste Profile: Powerful aromatics of ripe blackcurrant, blackberry, peppercorn and a touch of chaparral, supported by a frame of sweet oak. Intensely layered and decadent on entry, with black plum, boysenberry, kirsch and dark chocolate over a silky yet weighty texture, closing on a prolonged finish of Provenal lavender, fig leaf and ripe currant.
Winemaking Process: Ages 15 months in French oak, 43% new. Best decanted an hour before serving.
Winemaker: Orin Swift Cellars was founded in 1998 by a then 24-year-old Dave Phinney, who named the winery for his father’s middle name (Orin) and his mother’s maiden name (Swift). His breakout came with The Prisoner in 2000, after which Phinney built a run of unconventional blends wrapped in darkly artful, gothic labels that have made him one of Napa’s most recognisable names.
About the Label
Photographed in black-and-white by fellow winemaker and friend Greg Gorman, the label plays on a real moment: while carrying his three-year-old daughter through the vineyard trying to name his next wine, a butterfly flew past and she exclaimed, Look, a papillon! the French word for butterfly, which Phinney was startled she even knew. He built the label around the same contradiction, setting the delicate French word against the gritty, tattooed knuckles of one of his grape growers, a third-generation farmer he used as a hand model.
