The Prisoner

I just found a note I scribbled on the back of a business card and shoved into the pocket of these jeans when I was at Public Kitchen & Bar at The Roosevelt Hotel in LA.  The note says;

The Prisoner - Zinfandel/Cabernet - Napa Valley
Velvety leather
Chemically oak smell with touch of black fruit
Sharp and acid, long slightly sour afterfaste

I still remember the wine, mainly for the really long aftertaste, but it was obviously worthy of scribbling that down!  I've Googled the wine now, and learnt it is from Orin Swift cellars in Napa Valley - and is in fact a fairly complex blend of grapes:

51% Zinfandel
19% Cabernet Sauvignon
18% Syrah
  7% Petite Sirah
  3% Charbono
  1% Grenache
  1% Malbec


Considering the fact I get over to California at least three or four times a year, I know woefully little about the wine from there.  A Californian friend of mine had been recommending I watch Bottle Shock, a film about the early days of Napa Valley and the blind tasting in Paris which put Californians wines on the map.  It was a great film (with Alan Rickman, and a small appearance by Bradley Whitford which is always exciting for a West Wing fan!) and I think needs to be followd up with actually taking some holiday time in the US and going on a Napa trip at some point!