Origin: Oakville, California
Grape: 80% Zinfandel, 9% Petite Syrah, 8% Syrah, 3% Grenache
Year: 2016
Alcohol: 15.9%
Price point: $29
Year Reviewed: 2019
Saldo, made by the Prisoner Wine Company has a unique richness and elegance you will want to try. Grapes are sources from premier vineyards throughout California. Saldo’s grapes come from Dry Creek, Lodi (of course), and Amador. This deep ruby wine smells amazing upon opening and just gets better after the hour passes. Aromas of blackberry, deep red cherry and cranberry with a bit of mocha and medicinal or anise spice is apparent.
On the palate, this velety rich blend opens up with some herbal flavors of fennel and some vegetal expressions of green olive and lavender. A nice chocolate flavor, instead of mocha, as in the aromas coats your entire mouth with a long lingering, velvet tannic finish and leaves you with a bit of a spicy, light sweetness.
Aging in French and American oak barrels, 25% being new.
Okay, what about the label…very unique. Rumor had it was that Orin Swift had some friends over and wanted to bring up from his cellar a great bottle of wine to enjoy with them and was quickly looking for ideas to name his experimental wine. So he took his old label maker and “Saldo” was labelled, brought up out of the cellar and tried and loved by his friends. Hence the birth of “Saldo.” Look up the meaning of Saldo in Spanish as it has several interpretations….one of them being “balance on hand” and “from here and there” as that is representative of where his grapes came from in California.