The Wine Advocate | RP 89
Published: May 31, 2022

The 2020 Chardonnay Mannequin includes a tiny bit of Muscat for aromatic complexity and is blended from fruit grown in Sonoma and Napa. It's barrel fermented and matured eight months in 39% new French oak, but it doesn't come across as overly woody, with scents of pineapple and guava leading the way. The oak is more apparent on the full-bodied palate, with its pronounced dusty texture, and a touch of astringency on the finish.

Winemaker Dave Phinney grew up a West LA kid and attended boarding school in Squaw Valley.

"I thought I wanted to be an attorney," he told me, as we sat down at Louis Martini to taste through his latest wines for Orin Swift. He majored in political science, interned with a public defender and a politician. "I decided I didn't want to do those," he said. While in Florence as part of his University of Arizona studies, he fell in love with wine.

Phinney interned with a professor in the agriculture department to plant a vineyard in Tucson, then after graduation sent his resume to 50 wineries in Napa and got one response—from Robert Mondavi Winery. "I worked the night shift (3 p.m. – 1 a.m.) for harvest in ‘97—the only white guy on an all-Mexican crew." In 1998, Phinney started Orin (his dad's middle name) Swift (his mother's maiden name). "I bulked out that initial vintage," he said.

"As we were growing Orin Swift, we got to a point (120,000 cases) where we were going to have to be a wine sales company," said Phinney. He sold Orin Swift to Gallo in 2016. "Now, I have to understand sales, but I don't have to deal with it. It's allowed me to spend a lot more time in the vineyards, the winery and coming up with new brands."

These are unabashedly fruit-forward and super-ripe wines, with alcohol levels that come sometimes exceed 16%. Yet they avoid coming across as hot or raisiny. In many respects, they remind me of McLaren Vale's Mollydooker wines: big, bold, and ripe, with a certain extroverted appeal. Drink Date: 2022 - 2022

Orinswift.com

The most widely planted white wine grape in California, Chardonnay is expressed in many different styles due to the state’s varied regions. Microclimates and unique soil types allow us to source Chardonnay that tell us about place, heping us achieve our goals of showing what California has to offer. Before everything is blended, each lot expresses where it comes from – some are acid-forward and mineral-focused, while others are robuts, ripe and fruit-forward. But through blending trials we’re able to bring them together and form a piece of liquid art. Vintage after vintage we source fruit from vineyards across the state of California featuring vineyards located in the Russian River Valley, Atlas Peak and Santa Maria Valley – Mannequin is our manifestation of California Chardonnay.

A blinding white gold and a chartreuse shimmer in the glass, the 2021 Mannequin opens with opulent, beguiling aromatics. Ripe golden apple, concentrated jasmine, citrus notes and a touch of cream and fresh brioche emerge. The entry is bright yet with a bit of weight; similar aromatic notes come through on the palate supplemented by rich honeydew and green apple. Tempered by a prominent vein of acidity, the wine closes at length with a seamless silk-like quality, finishing with pleasing minerality.

BLEND
Chardonnay

MATURATION 
Aged in French Oak sur lie for 8 months, 23% New

ALC/VOL 
15.2%