Deep ruby-black color; cherry, licorice, baking spice on the nose; dark cherry, blackberry, dark plum, strawberry, pepper, vanilla, hint of chocolate on the palate.
Dry; velvety tannin; voluptuous, dense fruit; smoke, baking spice sweetness, toasty oak on mid-palate and long finish. Big in the mouth, flirts with jammy; loads and loads of very ripe fruit gets this to 15.9% alcohol. Blend of 85% zinfandel, 15% petite sirah and syrah. Grapes come from Dry Creek, Lodi, Amador vineyards—or from “here and there,” which is what “saldo” means in Latin.
The Prisoner Wine Company began with a zin-led red—The Prisoner—created by Orin Swift Cellars founder Dave Phinney in 1998. Phinney grew The Prisoner brand from 385 cases to 85,000 cases in 10 vintages, a true wine success story. Phinney sold The Prisoner brand to Huneeus Vinters in 2010, and Huneeus sold to Constellation Brands in 2016. Bill Newlands of Constellation said at the time of the acquisition: “More than ever, consumers are seeking high quality, distinctive wines, and the portfolio we are acquiring from The Prisoner Wine Company delivers.” Phinney sold his Orin Swift Cellars brand to E.&J. Gallo in 2016. Since The Prisoner was a separate brand from Orin Swift, Phinney has now sold his brands to the largest wine company in the world—Constellation sells more than 67 million cases (804 million bottles) of wine each year—and the largest family-owned wine company in the world. A pretty nice trick.
Constellation paid $285 million for The Prisoner Wine Company, and that was only the brand, no vineyards came with the purchase. The wine world is cleaving into two camps: wineries that make a precise, consistent style of wine (The Prisoner Wine Company is an example), and wineries that strive to express a particular plot of land and all the terroir elements that go into that equation. Wine drinkers can sit back and enjoy sipping while debating the existential nuances of each approach.
Chrissy Wittmann is the winemaker at The Prisoner. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Systematic Biology at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, the future winemaker found her love for wine while analyzing soil and waste water samples in a lab. She returned to Cal Poly and earned a master’s degree in Agriculture. Waste water vs. wine, not a hard call.
Wittmann joined Scheid Vineyards in 2005 as assistant winemaker; two years later she joined the prestigious Wild Horse Winery & Vineyards in Paso Robles. Over the next nine years, Chrissy rose to director of winemaking, while mastering the art of multi-vineyard sourcing. In 2016, Chrissy and her family moved to Napa Valley and joined The Prisoner Wine Company, where her expertise in vineyard partnerships is in play every day. Chrissy says, “The Prisoner Wine Company’s wines have true personalities that start in the vineyards and which are encompassed in the blending of the wine. I’m thrilled to be working with so many vineyards of quality, to tap into my inner wine geek every day.”
The Prisoner Wine Company Saldo Zinfandel 2015 is a love it or hate it wine with its monster fruit attack, load of oak, pad of butter, tablespoon of vanilla, and soaring alcohol. If you enjoy big, jammy wines, this certainly will pleasure your palate. Probably works best as a solo wine, a substitute for a spirits cocktail. Could pair with aged cheeses, pizza, grilled meats, barbecue, braised beef, but expect the wine to compete with rather than complement all but the boldest, most flavor-filled food. $28-32
The Prisoner Wine Company website
