Unshackled Red Blend Red Wine by The Prisoner Wine Company

The shopper average on this red is 4 out of five, and most of the rated wines we cover average higher. With that in mind, the branding deserves a slower read. Unshackled is a word that promises escape. The company selling it, The Prisoner Wine Company, gives Napa Valley, California as its home base, and the footer of its own website lists Constellation Brands as the owner of the label. Red Blend, the back half of the name, is a style description; the origin given for the wine itself is California.

3 shoppers are behind that average so far, an early tally, and the bottle they rated cost between $19.99 and $27.49 in our September 2026 checks, depending on the store. No region narrower than California is given for the wine. One question remains: does the promise of escape in the name outweigh an average that most of the rated wines we list beat?

The producer's own product page for the current release, the 2023 Unshackled Red Blend from California, lists the blend as Zinfandel, Malbec, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon, finished at 14.5 percent alcohol and priced at $22 direct from the winery. Two independent panels have scored it: Tasting Panel gave it 90 points in January 2025, describing it as 'accessible, full, nicely layered' with 'ripe fruit that shows good density,' and Harvest Challenge scored it 92 points in 2024, citing 'bright red fruit, roasted walnuts, and good structure.'

Unshackled launched in January 2020 as a new line from The Prisoner Wine Company, built by Director of Winemaking Chrissy Wittmann and sourced from California's Central Coast and North Coast; the original 2018 Red Blend combined five of those same grapes, Zinfandel, Malbec, Petite Sirah, Syrah and Grenache, at a $30 launch price, with Cabernet Sauvignon added to the blend by the 2023 vintage now on shelves.

Our call: this suits a shopper drawn to the story, a six-grape blend confirmed on the producer's own page and two independent panel scores in the low 90s to back it up. Pass if the shopper average is what settles it for you; most of the rated wines we cover score higher, and the tally behind that average is still an early one.

The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Sep 16, 2026 from our research file for this wine. Numbers reflect our latest checks.