The colder weather and the Army-Navy game called for the comfort of roasted chicken. On a whim, I also grabbed a wedge of what I consider the ultimate Zinfandel cheese; Cambozola. Needing a Zinfandel to accompany this, I grabbed the 2010 Orin Swift The Prisoner and decided to see what all the fuss was about.
The nose of this wine was the best part of it, at least for my tastes. Upon opening, the glass is full of crushed berries, wild flowers, and that spicy berry essence that is unique to Zinfandel. The wine is intensely fruity in the mouth, almost to the point of being too sweet. The tannins are minimal, the acids are so low as to make this border on being cloying, flabby. It’s too heavy. The 15.2% alcohol is hidden well under all that fruit, but it’s like a sauce you’d pour over vanilla ice cream. Yes, I freely acknowledge that some may love this style of “cocktail” wine, but it stood alone from the food. And the Cambozola, while delicious, only made the wine appear sweeter. Not something I’d buy again, but I readily admit that your mileage may vary. 84 points
 |
| The 2010 Orin Swift: The Prisoner |
 |
| Topo Gigio liked the wine better than me! |
Bummer, dude. I haven't had the 2010, but I've found previous vintages of this to be delicious in a dark-and-brooding kind of way. (Could just be that I'm more forgiving of the "cocktail" style, too.)