Orin Swift, 8 Years in the Desert, California

So worthy of almost five stars! This dark fruit forward blend heats up until the vanilla, slightly oaky notes enter the stage. Smooth stuff for sure!

2019 vintage

Perfect with our steaks

2019 vintage

Big bold fruit. CA zin, blended with a bit of syrah and petite syrah to amp everything up a notch. Well done, actually.

2019 vintage

Review 39 of #50in2024 I have had all vintages of Eight Years in the Desert. This was not my favorite. I selected this wine to pair with a smoked, pulled pork , baked beans, and slaw home cooked bbq. I hoped the classic Zinfandel fruit and spice would pair perfectly with the food. It did not. The wine was good, as it has nice fruit up front a bit of acidity and lower tannins. It had good Zinfandel characteristics. The …

2019 vintage

You know the song “Too Much” by the Dave Matthew’s Band? Or been tempted by ultra-premium foreign sports sedans where a double turbocharged V-8 is squeezed into the space normally reserved for a V-6? Well this that kind of wine, pushing the envelope to the absolute max. Sweet, powerful, tasty, full of fruit, alcohol, glycerin, concentrated spices. Really good, but like drinking port in larger pours throughout dinner. Almost headache-inducing even before bedtime. Too much.

2019 vintage

A monolithic wine, in both flavor and strength. Tobacco and sweet red fruits dominate from start to finish. Plush sweet fruit abounds. Alcohol noted on the finish - you’d have to be dead not to notice a 16.1% alcohol content… …paired this wine with a spicy BBQ/cumin flavored venison stew…ahhh…

2019 vintage

Great wine to pickup and enjoy with BBQ or something sweet and spicy. Nose is wood, dark fruit. Tannins are there but very much integrated. Great finish.

2019 vintage

Ok wine, poor value. Retail $50. 30 min decant. Dark opaque purple in the glass. Sweet fruit, oak, and garrique on the nose. On the palate - ripe dark fruits, leather, dried herbs, A whole lot of astringency. On entry there is a metallic unpleasant taste which is off putting. Full body, medium acid, medium-low tannin, very high alcohol. I like that there is some complexity to it but it is just so out of balance with the high alcohol. …

2019 vintage

Love this wine

2019 vintage

Bold, rich and straightforward with plenty of dried fruit and a few savoury notes. Still a bit young. I would love to see how this develops over the next 5-10 years. Deep ruby. Pronounced aromas of ripe and dried red cherries, blackberries, raspberries, stewed plums, leather, cedar, nutmeg, vanilla, saltana raisins, dried oregano, and hoisin. Pronounced palate. Full body, medium acidity, high tannin, high alcohol, long finish. A bit too much cooked and stewed fruit for my preference.

2019 vintage

Deep ruby. Pronounced on the nose with blackcurrant, blackberry, baked blackberry, fig, prune, raisin, cedar, vanilla, chocolate, nutmeg, licorice, meat, tobacco. Developing. Pronounced and dry on the palate with some smoke, dried herbs and savoury notes coming through. Full body, high ripe tannins, high alcohol, medium acidity, long finish. Can drink now with a decant but has potential for aging. Not my style but can see the appeal. Holds the super high alcohol very well.

2019 vintage

Well balanced very smooth flavor

2019 vintage

Good fruit, very low acidity, silky palate, overall boring.

2019 vintage

Medium Ruby -Medium (+) Acidity -Medium Tannin -High Alchohol -Medium (+) Bodied -Long Finish Medium (+) Intensity -Raspberry, Strawberry, Red Cherry, Red Plum, Blueberry, Liqourice, Vanilla, Cedar, Cinnamon A vibrant wine layered with red fruits and sweet spice, a bit heavy on the alcohol (16%) bit still very well balanced with solid structure, give it time and it will show some depth.

2019 vintage

Jammy Plum, blackberry, oak, coffee, pepper, clove, brambly, smoke, fig, brown sugar. A bit sweet.

2019 vintage

Miamm😊

2019 vintage

I've had the 2019 a few times. It'll drink better with another year or two but enjoyable now. Bold as a pop & pour. Be patient and it'll reward.

2019 vintage

Purple-ish colour, very berry heavy on the nose which mainly is covered with forest fruits. Palate has same berry aromas as the nose w. pungent cassis and dark plum w. spice and sweet vanilla from the oak, but also a very animalistic/meaty touch which I found vy typical for the Orin swift wines.

2019 vintage

Like a big bowl of molten candied berries. Really well balanced and easy to drink despite the high alcohol. This wine isn’t too complex but what it is doing, is done very well

2019 vintage

Great big zin with huge (16.1!) alcohol, covered up by chocolate-dipped strawberries and leather. Really hits the spot if that's what you're in the mood for, on a cold, damp day with a big bowl of sausage and spaghetti. Per other reviews, needs a good hour to open up.

2019 vintage

Yum. Aunty Kelly liked it too

2019 vintage

Tatiana

2019 vintage

Worth the wait for Oren Swift to reemerge. Full bodied but must decant for 1+ hours. Worth every bit of 91

2019 vintage

Black fruits and black coffee on the nose. Dense, super-concentrated black fruit body and a port-like finish; consistent with the 15.7% abv.

2019 vintage

Now that this has rested for another year, the dark cherry and blueberry fruits are making a nice appearance and the pepper ones has toned down a bit. Super full and rich - love it!

2019 vintage

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Orin Swift, 8 Years in the Desert, California

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