This past week, issue #10 of Mutineer Magazine hit the shelves, including my Wine Steals column which is all about Zinfandel in this issue. There’s one Zinfandel I didn’t include in the article, despite the fact that it may be the one wine more people ask me about than any other and that one is 7 Deadly Zins.
Michael David Winery is the producer of 7 Deadly Zins and they are one company that impresses me with their wines over and over. Their Earthquake Zinfandel is outstanding, although a bit more expensive than 7 Deadly Zins, and their 6th Sense Syrah was one of my favorites in the recent judging for the Cincinnati International Wine Festival. While I do like 7 Deadly Zins, the 2007 vintage didn’t blow me away as much as previous vintages.
The alcohol fumes are pretty powerful from this wine, which is a little bit of a turn off. When you get past the fumes, you find aromas of raspberry, black cherry and a little bit of clove. It doesn’t have quite the intensity or depth I want, but it’s still good. On the palate the tannins are firm. The flavors are cherry, raspberry and black pepper, but the concentration of those flavors is only moderate. Some oak flavor lingers on the finish.
It’s a good wine for the price, as most of my favorite Zinfandels are $15-20 but I found this one for an easy $12.
Wine: 7 Deadly Zins
Variety: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $11.98
Find 7 Deadly Zins with Snooth
This is one of my favorite go-to wines. It’s affordable enough to enjoy with family dinner, take along when invited somewhere last-minute, or pour for a good Wednesday evening with friends. It also has an interesting label & name, for the many of us who will try things based on that virtue!