The Prisoner Wine Company, The Prisoner, Napa Valley

just cleaning up inventory

2019 vintage

Bold fruit and oak. Lacking depth and nuances.

2021 vintage

Still showing some tightness and gritty tannins on the finish, but the fruit is starting to come thru especially after 30-60m. Cherry, blackberry, and some toasty oak.

2023 vintage

The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. The body is medium/full. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.

2021 vintage

A very tannic Pinot Noir that lacks the nuance and flavor of RRV Pinots. For a similar price, a Boen is a much better bet.

2021 vintage

This wine has aged in a beautiful way. Rich with hits of tobacco and leather. Full bodied yet easy to drink. Sad, this was our last bottle. We have in 2013. We hope it is as good.

2012 vintage

Cinnamon and clove on the nose; tasting strawberries and cherries with spice, mild-medium acidity and tannins. Good with lighter meals, even moderately savory food.

2021 vintage

I think it has a lot of potential to age.

2023 vintage

Over-extracted; high ABV; tannic; not well balanced. barely resembled Pinot Noir. Over-priced. Would be ok value at $15-20.

2019 vintage

Good red wine.

2023 vintage

Dinner at home (Chicago, IL) : Served double blind. At first, I thought this might have been a Port, given the ripe fruit on the nose, but it certainly lacked the complexity, even if it had some of those raisiny notes. The palate is sweet, but not sweet enough for a proper dessert wine. Huge amounts of oak, which was enough of a giveaway that this was a gag bottle. This is the oldest age of this wine that I've …

2012 vintage

Taste like a french pinot noir, yum yum!!

2021 vintage

Delicious. Deep red in color with minimal legs. Spice on the nose. Flavors or tobacco up front with some more spice on the finish. Best “prisoner” I have had; but expensive in my opinion compared to Olema which is just as good at half the price.

2021 vintage

Unfortunately our bottle was a little shop worn with an almost but not completely dry cork. My sister received it as a gift several years ago, and properly kept it cellared, but it was not at its best. Never the less, this is a totally hedonistic wine. So richly concentrated deep dark fruit. Nuanced tobacco, lead pencil, coffee and roasting mushrooms. Mouth coating fruit and oak.

2012 vintage

Aging nicely, with mellow tannins, dark berries and tobacco on palate. Has more time

2015 vintage

Decanted 30 minutes. Red cherry, strawberries some rhubarb and spice. Medium bold for a Pinot. Not too high acid levels. Tannins there but not balanced with acidity level. Ok but not great wine to drink on own or with mild foods. Probably not but again.

2021 vintage

14.5% abv. Smells rich, abv and oak, but not out of place for what it is. Pomegranate, generous palate, oak and roast up front.

2017 vintage

Was very big and tons of oak. After a few hours it was palatable and revealed more characteristics of a cab than pinot noir.

2021 vintage

Oaky fruit bomb. Some might be able to enjoy it.

2021 vintage

This is a staple - you know you’re getting a great oaky wine each time. Just the right amount of bold and still easy to to drink.

2021 vintage

This wine aged nicely. nose was leather, vanilla and chocolate with dark fruit nuances. Flavors were layered blackberry and ripe black cherry and a touch of dark plum. A delicious wine! The tannins were soft but ever present and the acid help up over the years leaving a very long and tasty finish of black fruit and those lovely tannins.

2012 vintage

Nose of cherries, perhaps dark chocolate and with touch of vanilla, flavors of dark cherry, hint of blueberries, full bodied, opaque, with a long finish. This wine was passed its drink by date but delivered as well or better than younger “The Prisoner” bottles.

2015 vintage

Big for a Pinot, could pass for a Cab. Needs time, still tight and steely.

2021 vintage

Well, balanced acidity. Not too dry. Good mouth feel.

2021 vintage

First, it is a pain in the a$$ to get into this bottle. The bottle is dipped in thick plastic, not wax. It is not an easy feat to get it off and fingers crossed you don’t slice your fingers. Once open, a beautiful Pinot. On the nose: rich aged red fruit with a hint of leather. On the palate: silky smooth fruit and tannins. Flavors of cherry, blackberry, & cranberry. Not a peppery Pinot. I probably won’t buy again …

2019 vintage

Very strong and overall excellent wine which can be a little intrusive at times.

2015 vintage

was surprisingly delicious, would find again for the right price.

2019 vintage

Tannic; heavy. Little depth.

2015 vintage

Very nice, good fruit, very smooth, a bit tannic on aftertaste.

2021 vintage

Big Zin on the fruity side that lasted open for several days with argon. Better than average Zin.

2015 vintage

Big and boozy. Tastes and smells old but hot from the alcohol, almost like rum. This was not pleasant.

2012 vintage

Got this as a gift. Unbalanced and too dry. Another high abv CA Pinot that pretends it wants to be a cab disappointment.

2019 vintage

Needed an hour to reveal its true and amazing character. Benefitted nicely from bottle aging. Medium to dark garnet. Complex and concentrated nose of caramel, candied cherry, dark red fruits, roasted stone fruits, almonds, and tertiary aromas and flavors of caramel and earthy mushrooms from the long bottle aging. Sediment forming. Bold, full body, medium + acid, silky relaxed tannins, a hint of sweetness. All in perfect harmony. Well worth waiting for.

2012 vintage

Still very fruit forward. Drink now.

2015 vintage

At our office Xmas dinner - we opened a double magnum which I had in storage. Opened 6 hours in advance of dinner. The nose was all fruit. The palate was red plums, red cherry, currants and some tobacco. The finish was moderate to long and smooth. A nice wine which complimented our Holiday party.

2012 vintage

dark notes, full heavy and tastes like raisins, with bodied tannin. Polished but one dimensional.

2015 vintage

wonderful

2019 vintage

Pas très bon. Overprice. Overhype. Trop boisé vanillé. Ressemble au bas de gamme de robertmontavi à15$ can.

2019 vintage

It’s a solid introductory Pinot noir. Aromas of blackberry, pie crust, baking spice. Strong booze up front, spicy mouthfeel, short to medium finish that contains slight spice and dark fruits. Blackberry, blueberry, alcohol, and cardamom. Not a very flavorful experience, but not terrible.

2019 vintage

This is a very good every day wine.

2015 vintage

Nice weeknight zin-like wine, great for weeknight drinking. Not sure what i paid for it, but hope it was around $30. If closer to $50 then nothing special. Good drinking though.

2015 vintage

This is a Prisoner so you know exactly what you're getting when you pop the cork. New World notes of black cherries, carob, briars, brambles, and spices are sprinkled with toasty, brown sugar. This is more jammy Cab than Pinot and yet it retains a semblance of balance to the big, Prisoner character.

2019 vintage

Extremely smooth. Still full bodied, but has a nice mellowed finish. Great wine.

2012 vintage

Yet another big and powerful wine of the evening with a blend of 46% Zin, 22% CS, 18% Petite Sirah, 12% Syrah and 2% Charbon. Medium intensity smoky and jammy cherries, chocolate, tobacco, liquorice, undergrowth and medicinal hints. Medium+ body, lush, ripe and sweet black fruit flavours along notes of milk chocolate, smoky hints, silky medium density concludes with fine structured tannins and dried cherry finish.

2012 vintage

Jammy and not as much depth as I remember from the last bottle I had. Maybe past peak? Still enjoyable for what it is. Which for me is more as a weeknight wine, though priced doubly so.

2015 vintage

****

2019 vintage

Drank this 4 years beyond the recommended drinking window. Decanted for over an hour. A solid red blend. Medium boldness, smooth tannis, soft with a good finish.

2012 vintage

Good but nothing soecial. I felt it was weak and lacked a clearly defined aroma and palate. General red fruit and general pinot like notes but nothing stood out.

2019 vintage

A little too sweet and jammy for me.

2015 vintage

Had with lasagna at the Llanos. Not my favorite Pinot, mostly due to the Syrah blended into it.

2019 vintage

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The Prisoner Wine Company, The Prisoner, Napa Valley

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