The Prisoner Wine Company Unshackled Rose 2019
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Wilfred
Wong
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Unshackled Rose is a bright and crisp rose wine featuring citrusy aromas with hints of strawberry and melon. The flavors of grapefruit, tangerine and lemon offer lively acidity and result in a refreshing rosé with a crisp finish. Pinot Noir, syrah, grenache, and mourvedre grapes from the north and central coast combine to create a blush wine that breaks free from convention. Pair this rose wine with roasted beet salad, goat cheese and pistachios or green olive tapenade served with petits toasts. Chill this wine bottle for up to two hours prior to serving.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 Unshackled Rosé delivers a pink profile that wine lovers will enjoy. TASTING NOTES: This wine spins the globe in its aromas and flavors. Enjoy its pleasing red berries, hints of minerality, and dried earth with a flavorful cassoulet. (Tasted: January 17, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
The Prisoner Wine Company’s eponymous first wine was inspired by the drinkable “mixed blacks” made by the Italian immigrants who originally settled in Napa Valley. Since launch, The Prisoner soon became recognized as one of the most innovative Napa Valley wines, leading the resurgence of California red blends and earning “cult wine” status. Now complemented by a white blend (Blindfold), Chardonnay (The Snitch), Cabernet Sauvignon (Cuttings), Zinfandel (Saldo), Merlot (Thorn) and a Red Blend (Dérangé), The Prisoner Wine Company’s winemaking philosophy remains the same: To collaborate with a family of growers throughout California’s best winegrowing regions to craft wines of exceptional quality and unexpected character.
The Prisoner Wine Company acquires grapes from more than 100 vineyards throughout California’s premier grape-growing regions, partnering with phenomenal growers who are dedicated to cultivating unique varieties. Chrissy Wittmann and her team of winemakers collaborate with this family of growers, visiting each vineyard site throughout the year to carefully assess the style and quality of every lot to make the best possible wine from each vintage.
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.
Responsible for the vast majority of American wine production, if California were a country, it would be the world’s fourth largest wine-producing nation. The state’s diverse terrain and microclimates allow for an incredible range of red wine styles, and unlike tradition-bound Europe, experimentation is more than welcome here. California wineries range from tiny, family-owned boutiques to massive corporations, and price and production are equally varied. Plenty of inexpensive bulk wine is made in the Central Valley area, while Napa Valley is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious and expensive “cult” wines.
Each American Viticultural Area (AVA) and sub-AVA of has its own distinct personality, allowing California to produce red wine of every fashion: from bone dry to unctuously sweet, still to sparkling, light and fresh to rich and full-bodied. In the Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate vineyard acreage. Sonoma County is best known for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rosé and Zinfandel. The Central Coast has carved out a niche with Rhône Blends based on Grenache and Syrah, while Mendocino has found success with cool climate varieties such as Pinot noir, Riesling and Gewürztraminer. With all the diversity that California wine has to offer, any wine lover will find something to get excited about here.