l'Usine is the brainchild of David Phinney of Orin Swift fame. Wanting to exploit some superb vineyard plots planted with Pinot Noir, he based each one off the picture on the front of the bottle. The expressions of the models and the way the image is shot are meant to reflect something he saw in the wine. The nature of this subject/object trickery, combined with the juxtaposition of the bottle informing the wine (rather than vice-versa), is typical Phinney: auteur, driven, splendid. And luckily enough - the wines are more than good enough to support such a high-profile, elegant design.

Fine wine, like fine art, also elicits romantic visions. Vineyards drenched in dappled sunlight or candle-lit caves. Grey-haired British ladies and gentlemen describe a given wine's traits and aromatics in the Queen's best English. Wine, like art, is raw. It requires years of hard work. It has a high likelihood of failing. It is subjective at best. It isn't always pretty. Like art, there have been thousands of failures for every good or great wine. On the palate, prominent acidity takes over and assists by throwing wild blueberry, olallieberry, and freshly picked tarragon across the tongue. The finish is framed by an intriguing texture of soft velvet and dust paired with crisp acidity indicative of its ageing potential.