How can we do a series on Zinfandel without tasting 7 Deadly Zins? Simply put, we can’t.
It’s a bad pun that inspired the naming of this wine. But hey… it’s fun and it’s a name you will remember. But it’s not just another bottle with a quirky name trying to entice shoppers with silly marketing, there’s a reason behind the seven in the name. The grapes that go into this wine come from seven different growers in the Lodi region. I don’t know if they picked the name and then decided to source from seven growers or vice versa, but I do know one thing… this wine is good!
You may have heard people refer to a style of Zinfandel as “Lodi Zinfandel” and this is a great example of such a style. It’s a Zinfandel that was made to go with barbecue. Big, bold and fruity with lots of spice. This is what many people love about California Zins (and what some people hate).
I Confess, I Like this Wine
OK, so now I’m getting in on the bad jokes. But it’s no joke that this is a good zin. It has a spicy nose with a bit of raspberry, tomato, pepper and cola. It’s very clearly a Lodi Zinfandel right from the first whiff. Raisins, jammy blackberry, walnut and black pepper make for a big, bold palate with plenty of complexity. It has good concentration too, and a fairly long finish with a hot spiciness.
It’s not bad for the $15 price. I gave it an 87.
Wine: 7 Deadly Zins
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 15%
Rating: 87
Price Paid: $14.99
UPDATE: Read our review of the 7 Deadly Zins 2007 vintage
Hey, I stumbled upon your blog on Alltop. I agree with your post on 7 Deadly Zins. Very Yummy. Right now, Im drinking an Edmeades Zin. $16 and change. Have u had this wine before?
Hey, Kevin. Thanks for checking out the site. I haven’t had the Edmeades yet, but I have a bottle in the rack for a future review. Cheers!
i love what you’re doing over here. keep up the great work.
It’s 9.99 at Super Targets near you now!
I also very much appreciate your efforts. As for $9.99 at SuperTargets…didn’t see this until I just paid $15.00 for it at regular Target.
Been drinking 7 zins for about a year now and one of my favorites. $12.99 at costco, this is in my opinion is a $20+ and so far we have been lucky. Better by a few cases, sooner or later the price is going up.
People do as Frank Johnson suggested!!! I am from the Okanagan,Canada
and just bought a bottle of 7 zins and payed $28.00.. enjoy!
I just had the 2006 7-DeadlyZin and found it not worth even the $10 I would spend on other zins. It is certainly blended, I feel sorry for the wasted good stuff that was mixed and diluted. Having been raised drinking and making zin from Amador County Calif, I have a fair benchmark. You may ask what’s better, curent Harlow Ridge, and if stashed away from late 90’s or perhaps newer, Buena Vista Winery,of Sonoma. Blends don’t make the best zinfandel.
7 deadly zins is the best wine ever i recommend it for all. Its just too good, i can’t explain it. I dropped my champeng for it. Keep up the good work.
Nice review. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find this wine in the Chicago area anymore 🙁 It was by far our favorite wine to drink on the commuter train home.
I have to confess (like the original reviewer), I really like this wine. I got the spicy flavor on the first swallow. A nice finish, and it’s gonna go well with our pork tenderloin that is on the grill AS I TYPE.
Hi Tim,
Thanks for reviewing our wine. To clarify the naming process of the wines it went as follows: We have 7 growers that stood out as producing our favorite zin grapes. 4 of them are my cousins, (I’m 6th generation to our family’s vineyards so I have a hell of a lot cousins in Lodi) 2 are our next door neighbors (possibly cousins) and 1 is my dads best friend from high school (hopefully not a cousin). Remember Lodi is only 60,000 people, but we do have 80+ wineries now. So we wanted to bottle the grapes from these 7 vineyards into one wine that we were gong to call 7 Zins. But at the last minute Mike and Dave Philips (once Catholic school boys) decided to add “Deadly” to the equation. Taa Daa!!
The name and label caught consumers attention, but our juice is what brings than back. 7 Deadly Zins is the number one Zinfindel of California.
If you are looking for even more than the 7 Deadly, be sure to try out our Earthquke Zin (the vineyard was plated in 1906, the year of San Francisco earthquake) And if you want to have the best of the best try Lust (one of the 7 deadly sins) 80 year old vines and 2 years in french oak gives this wine an underlining elegance that I would never have thought possible for zinfandel.
And to “Antonio” I’m not sure what you quite mean about our wine being blended. We add a small about of Petite Sirah to give some exta depth. And diluted?! You aren’t going to find wines that are diluted when that have 16% alcohol.
To Kevin- Edmeades is a great wine. I find myself drinking it often.
Hytran- call the winery and they will help you find 7 Deadly in Chicago- it’s definable there.
I had my first bottle of 7 w/my “bonfire” porterhouse last night in St, Paul e They complimented each other. Great stuff.
I must say it’s the most accessible yet good quality us wine I have tasted in a long while. Really enjoyable!
FG DC
…and by the way, the price I paid here in Sweden is USD 16. really good value – just below starting price of Spanish Duero wines, which I recommend to all Zin lovers! FG from Sweden
PS I love your site!
Thank you all for the great comments!!! I’m glad to see so many people excited about this wine.
It’s 2011 and I’m getting ready to open up a bottle of 7 Deadly Zins 2008. My first…hope to enjoy.
We need to taste that vintage too. I hope it’s good.
Where can we get 7 Zins in Toronto
Hi Steve. Unfortunately I don’t know where to find this wine in Toronto.
I was attracted to the name but WOW what a ZIN!! This is our zin now.
Haha! The name is catchy. Thanks for the comment, vacotton.
We love this wine and drink it often. I get it at Specs in Houston for $10 and at Costco for $10.99. Wow! Can’t beat that price, even though $16 is a good price for a very decent bottle of wine. Can I say again ~ we love this wine!
Hi Thiacomo. Thanks for the heads up on the bargain pricing at Specs & Costco. Wow! 10 bucks is a great deal on this wine!
7 deadly zins is at Milestone’s in the GTA , I’m drinking it right now, it’s pretty yummy, I get olives when I first sniff/taste 🙂
This beauty is about $30-$40 in Canada…
2010 Vintage – Lingering notes of ham. A smoky bacon aftertaste that contines long after the last swallow. Seriously – try a snort and see if I’m wrong.
I believe you, buffalo girl. And I like it when zinfandel gets those meaty notes (as long as it’s in balance). I will have to give that vintage a taste.
Thanks for the review. I also enjoy of this wine.
buffalo girl said on April 20th, 2013
2010 Vintage – Lingering notes of ham. A smoky bacon aftertaste that contines long after the last swallow. Seriously – try a snort and see if I’m wrong.
2010 Lodi Appellation Old Vine – I defineitely got the smoky taste. Very deep berry notes. Balanced out as smoky peppery berry for me. Amazing taste, thank God for this lovely oinos!!
tried the 2011 vintage and i wasn’t impressed. very very thin mouthfeel, short finish, just lacking in overall “oomph”. not worth the money. for a VERY GOOD old vine lodi zinfandel — i am a fan of this type of red’s flavor profile — try brazin at 14.5 abv. very thick, rich, full-bodied, earthy and tasty. for that matter, costco’s kirkland signature 2012 old vine sonoma county at 15-percent abv tasted much better than 7 deadly zins.
Thanks for the comment, Caligirl. I agree about the Brazin, it’s a tasty wine.
Hi Tim, thanks for the review, 7 deadly Zins is my favorite wine, its perfect. Great analogy and research, now I know why I love it.
Thanks Kathy!
Right now, laying on it’s side, next to my monitor is a 3-liter 7 Zin 2013. If my understanding of big bottles is correct and if my math is right, this bottle will be ready Fall 2019. I’ll have to wait till 2019 to find out if by not cellaring it I’ve committed a zin.
But why wait, Carson? Why wait?
Did I just get a bad bottle? Ick. This is one of the worst cheap wines I’ve ever tasted. Strange, chemically odor, unpleasant flavor. Never again!