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Affordable California Zinfandel Review – 25 Under $20

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The series on California Zinfandel is complete—finally—and here is the summary of 25 Zinfandels under $20.  Zinfandel tends to be a love it or hate it variety, and those that love it find themselves paying more and more for it lately.  Yes, the better Zinfandels are ticking upward with their prices.  So, we thought it would be good to find where the values can still be found.

Top Zin – Edmeades Mendocino County

Edmeades Mendocino County Zinfandel

With outstanding complexity, texture and a memorable finish, the top honors goes to the 2006 Edmeades Mendocino County Zinfandel.  But it comes with a hefty price tag for cheap wine aficionados — $18.99 where we bought it.  This is the most expensive bottle in our list.  It’s also has one of the highest alcohol levels we encountered (15.5%), a characteristic consistent with many of the better Zinfandels in our opinion.  Our rating came to a 92 on this one and it is highly recommended, if you’re willing to spend that much.

Other Recommendations

Cardinal ZinThe only other wine we tried to earn a 90 was the 2005 Cardinal Zin.  It’s a few dollars cheaper than the Edmeades, but it will still run you $15.99.  It comes with a fabulous, albeit controversial, label designed by Ralph Steadman.  This wine has a pronounced intensity on the nose with interesting complexity.  The palate brings an equal amount of complexity with abundant ripe fruit, mineral, leather and pepper.  This is another highly recommended wine.

One of the really pleasing parts of this series is that we found a number of decent Zinfandels.  Here are the picks that rated between 86-89:

Twisted ZinBargain Basement Zinfandel

If you’re really budget-conscious and are looking for the absolute best deal, then go with the 2005 Twisted Zin.  The nose on the Twisted Zin is cherry cola, raspberry and herbs.  It’s not really elegant, but it’s fun and enjoyable.  The palate is full of jammy red fruit and a touch of black pepper.

The Full List

Here is the full list of the 25 Zinfandels under $20 we tried for this series.

Brand

Year

Rating

Price

Edmeades Mendocino County
2006
92
$18.99
Cardinal Zin
2005
90
$15.99
Charles Underwood Farleigh
2005
89
$13.99
Parducci Mendocino Valley Zinfandel
2005
88
$9.99
Belvedere Healdsburg Ranches
2001
88
$14.98
Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel
2005
87
$9.97
7 Deadly Zins
2005
87
$14.99
Oak Ridge Old Zin Vines
2005
87
$15.99
Rancho Zabaco Sonoma Heritage Vines Zinfandel
2005
86
$11.99
Rosenblum Cellars Vintner’s Cuvée xxx
XXX
86
$11.99
Pepperwood Grove
2005
85
$6.49
Twisted Zin
2005
85
$6.99
Rabbit Ridge Central Coast
2005
85
$10.99
Renwood
2005
85
$11.99
Cline Ancient Vine Zinfandel
2006
85
$14.99
Sin Zin
2005
85
$16.99
Rancho Zabaco Dancing Bull
2005
84
$8.99
Hayman & Hill Dry Creek Valley Reserve Selection
2003
84
$12.99
Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Red Label Zinfandel
2004
84
$13.99
Cellar No 8
2005
82
$9.99
Temptation
2005
81
$12.99
Mandolin
2003
81
$13.99
Fetzer Valley Oaks
2004
80
$6.99
Old Moon Zinfandel
2006
79
$7.99
Cline California Zinfandel
2006
78
$8.99
Tim Lemke Tim is the founder and chief reviewer at Cheap Wine Ratings since 2007.

Comment(0)

  1. Great review of these Zins… although I thought the Bogle and the Sonoma Zabaco where a little better than you stated.

  2. I live in California and have tasted lots of Zinfandel. You have a great list of the bargain Zins. I love the Renwood and the Rosenblum and you’ve listed both.

    A popular Zin I don’t see listed is Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin, which you can find for around $10. It’s a little more sweet than I’d prefer.

  3. Earthquake Zinfandel by Michael David Wineries (makers of Seven Deadly). B-E-S-T Zin E-V-E-R. Around $20 a bottle and worth every penny and more.

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