Orin Swift, Papillon, Napa Valley

Drank with dinner of smashburgers and fries. Nose is still full with lots of dark berries, coffee and a touch of cocoa. Fruit is fading a bit on the palate and the finish is relatively short. Tannins are soft. This is overall a few years past its prime, unfortunately..

2005 vintage

Drinking nicely now. Tannins are ever present, but soft. Solid bottle of wine with typical cab sav notes flavors. Finish lingers a bit.

2005 vintage

Excellent! Paired wonderfully with my homemade pizza! Will drink again with anything!

2005 vintage

Wow this wine is still amazing after 15 years. Still lots of fruit, but starting to show more notes and now a little more elegant. This wine is best aged over 10 years. Even after 15 years, dark purple in colour. Notes of black currant, ecalytus, dark chocolate, and licorice. Dry, nice acidity, med body, smooth tannins. Med + finish. Love this wine. A little overpowering in its youth, but evolves into a big elegant wine.

2005 vintage

Was wondering how this wine would hold up and I was not disappointed. Soft and silky which is not what I would have expected. Really am glad I had this lay down for a decade. Last bottle, would be interested how it progresses. Drink up

2005 vintage

From memory. A friend brought this over last night. It’s not my usual fare but I definitely enjoyed it. We decanted and let it sit about an hour before consuming. The wine has a delicious, complex bouquet contrasted somewhat by a simpler, dense red fruit flavor in the mouth. I found that the tannins were still evident, though slight. They were fine-grained and unobtrusive. This bottle was definitely well-cellared since purchase which might be the reason other notes suggest it …

2005 vintage

Opened a couple hours before and decanted. Very dark red in the glass, chocolate and berries on the nose. Medium bodied with very smooth finish. Everyone enjoyed it.

2005 vintage

Somewhat simple with fruit fading. Don't think this one has the stuffing to make it much further. Drink now in my book.

2005 vintage

CTSS gift from five years ago, finally drinking it now. Tannins are fully integrated, this is nice and round on the palate. Remains quite big, but doesn't punch you in the face. No upside on holding. Drinking nicely right now with no decant. Thanks, Smig!

2005 vintage

popped and poured. really great wine. at its peak. very CA cab - pretty nose, dark red fruit, layers of fruit, long finish.

2005 vintage

Very dark red, thick cassis, blackberry aroma, dense black fruit, medium weight, tannins are integrated, short finish. Pleasant wine but nothing special. Out of curiosity we weighed the empty bottle. 42.3 ounces! Not exactly eco-friendly in today's green economy. Doesn't make the wine any better and the shipping costs must be absurd.

2005 vintage

Cork was solid with a clean 1mm of black soakage. Color is a deep black ruby with a dark rim that I had to hold directly in front of the sun to see through. The nose is subtle and focused with forresty and dusty currant aromas. Deep dark fruits packed into a velvety package unfold nicely across the palate. It's aged graceful and has plenty of time left imo. Edit, this wine really improved with time and proper Bordeaux glasses.

2005 vintage

I sure liked this many years ago (93 points). This is still very good but definitely not my preference in wine nowadays. This packing a real punch with strong dark fruit aromas and flavors along with licorice and nice long finish. More than 15% alcohol!

2005 vintage

This is a good place right now. Balanced and has some depth. Drink now I think if you have any left. Also this has to be the heaviest wine bottle ever made. It feels full when empty.

2005 vintage

Good fruit on the nose as well as on first taste. Mod length, still w a little acidity and tannin. Glad I had this now but may get another year or two (if well stored) out of this vintage.

2005 vintage

Good fruit on nose. Brownish color at the rim. It's probably time to drink now.

2005 vintage

Considerably better than I was expecting. Still good fruit balanced with tannin.

2005 vintage

Decanted for 30 minutes at restaurant. Acidity is still present so this shows that the wine is holding up well. To me this feels like it is in the middle of the drinking window. I am not sure if this wine will develop any further but I have one more bottle to find out.

2005 vintage

Maybe needed a longer decant as last glass drank the best. Currants, some dill and touch of oak. Not as 'big' as I thought it might be

2005 vintage

PnP - a bit woody, still a bit hot with the alcohol poking out - so slightly out of balance. That said - it's pretty damn good. It's rich with black fruits but not over the top, tannins are evident. Acid is low though. Last bottle, not sorry I drank it, but not sure I'd make an effort to re-purchase.

2005 vintage

Very good wine, still young. Fruit driven but still has structure, very Cali style. Better than I expected.

2005 vintage

Nose: A bit of bottle funk upon opening, but once that blew off it was a very straight forward blackberry, cassis and chocolate nose. Shows off the new oak still. Palate: Smooth, silky and plush with good Black Cherry, Blackberry and some meaty notes. Slight olive note as well, but the jammy fruit leads. Finish: Moderate and falls off quickly. Not the penetrating finish I recall from prior bottles. Drink up. Good CA cab blend, but it was better in …

2005 vintage

Delicious stuff, just quite different than I expected. soft supple tannin and a nice long dark cherry/chocolate type finish...

2005 vintage

See my 3/14/13 notes. This, the last bottle in our cellar, was perfectly consistent. What that means: do NOT wait any longer to drink this wine. It is still in the "very good" range, but is likely starting to flatten off.

2005 vintage

Very good wine, but not the same as the wine I had on 3/17/12. In all respects, not the same. It has a lot of balance and, yet, if it's possible, there may be too much balance. I've had several vintages of the Papillon, and they are usually about being being big and bold. I won't say that the wine is flattening off, it just seems to not have the "pow" that I'm accustomed to. Still, by comparison to many …

2005 vintage

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Orin Swift, Papillon, Napa Valley

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