Wine Review: Saved 2011 Red

By now I'm sure you've heard of Prisoner. The recent popularity of that wine has been insane and for good reason: it's phenomenal. It's also $40 to $45. But never fear, Prisoner loving citizen! Saved is here to save the day!

Saved Wine brings together Scott Campbell, a famous New York tattoo artist, and Clay Brock, winemaker for Wild Horse. Let me just say that Clay Brock is a badass name. He could have been an international super-criminal instead of a winemaker. I guess the banktellers and winoes of the world got lucky.

The Saved 2011 Red takes a ton of varietals from, supposedly, the best regions in California. It's 31% Zinfandel, 23% Carignane, 12% Petite Sirah, 11% Malbec, 10% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, 2% Mixed Blacks, 1% Ruby Cabernet, and 1% Syrah. It has an ABV of 15%.

The bottle is etched rather than having a label and appears to be trying to tell me to sacrifice goats for the Illuminati or something. Around the edged ring of Sauron it says "Reverence of beauty, eradication of doubt through systems of superstition, adversities exiled by incantations of compassion and tenacity of heart". I dunno what the hell that's about, man. Long words. And stuff. LET'S DRINK!

The color of the wine is a deep, dense purple with a vibrant magenta edge.

The nose reminds me of why I friggin love wine. The sensation of the volatile alcohol and aromas up the nostrils is outstanding and makes me want to smack my own momma. The very first thing I think of is candy cane. Then cassis, black olive and black table pepper.

The palate starts off with tart cranberry followed by red cassis, raspberry and vanilla. The finish is quite long with plum, coffee, oak and alcohol. It's got a full body, smooth mouthfeel and moderate tannin.

I should probably mention that I struggle with Zinfandel. It's the one varietal I have a hard time getting on board with and it takes a special Zin or Zin blend to get a positive reaction from me. I'll explain why sometime in a future blog, I suppose.

So would I buy this wine again? If the occasion fit then certainly. With the package and the mass appeal of the wine's character it's probably at the top of my list to gift for someone. But as awesome as it is and as much as I love it... it's just not something I personally gravitate towards. I'll be grabbing something new that I haven't had yet before I buy Saved again.

That being said, I've had about twenty-THOUSAND nosegasms just smelling this wine while writing this. I feel that is important to point out.

Would I recommend this to customers? Does the Pope shit in the woods? Listen, it's not Prisoner. Saved is like one tier down from Prisoner, half the price, and behaves more like a $28 bottle than a $20 bottle. It kicks the crap out of Buena Vista The Count, an awesome Zin blend in its own right, that sells for the same exact price. With all that going for it, how could I not bring it up to anybody that walks through the door looking for red blends?

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $20
5/5: Highly Recommended.
(what does that mean?)

The bottle used was purchased by myself for the purpose of this review.