This has sat forgotten in my cellar for quite some time. Hard to say whether it has improved but the nose certainly jumps out. Lovely fruit still in the mouth and a surprising creaminess. Makes a nice aperitf as well as good food wine. I still shudder at the label.
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Smokey with tobacco grab. Heavy on the palate, with black cherry, licorice and white pepper. Hints of clove close the wine with mild tannins and a smooth finish.
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I'm not fond of Zins generally but this got my attention at a blind tasting. Just as well I could't see the label. Brambly nose, fruity in the mouth with good balance and muted tannins. Wonderful value for everyday drinking.
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A nose of cherries and spice, dark garnet in color. A medium bodied Zin, with raspberries, black cherries, and spices, a good value. Cool Zork closure and label.
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This was pretty decent. Paired well with grilled top sirloin and latin sides. Fruity, medium weight, better on the second night as first night it was a bit out of balance but it settled down nicely and mellowed a bit.
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Fantastic. I'm becoming a real believer in Lodi Zin. Ruby colored, medium body with a nose that was pure jam. Got a lot of strawberry & raspberry on the pallat, with a bit of alcohol that faded after it was open for a few hours. Not a big finish, but nice, with some mild spice.
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This bottle started to come into its own after about 30 minutes, as it became less brambly and fruit forward, and overall better integrated; it then kept evolving over the next hour. Still, not as good as I remember the Plungerhead from a blind tasting three months ago (when it finished first -- was it the 14.9% alcohol?); back then, it had more of the old vine dark fruit character, and less heat on the finish. Tonight, this tasted more like the $15 Lodi wine bottle it is; which is to say it's well priced and a good representation of Lodi Zins, but don't expect anything close to a 90 pointer.
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In this tasting, I'll compare Plungerhead Zinfandel 2009 with the 7 Deadly Zins 2008.
The Plungerhead has a rubber stopper for a cork. It’s tightly sealed in by some winding plastic. It opens easy, and there’s a slight pop to it when you pull out the stopper. I really enjoy these stoppers because they are simple, they don’t affect the taste of the wine, and they never break. They will be a great replacement for cork in this world with limited cork supplies. Plus, most important, you can save and reuse the rubber stoppers for a number of things, including capping other wine bottles after opening them. I like this because sometimes the corks just don’t fit in again, especially those solid hard plastic corks that pretend to look like they are made out of cork but are not, or those other corks with the sponge-like center and the hard plastic casing which never fit in the bottle again. So this cork is a bonus for sure.
The 7 Deadly Zins cork is your standard cork, which is perfectly admirable. Once you pull out a standard cork, you can tell you certain things about the wine, especially from the cork’s stained bottom. How dark is that stain? How far up the cork does it go? Can you stamp the back of your hand with the wet, stained bottom and leave a mark? Does the stain have an odor? These are all useful and fun. This cork, however, broke in half, with one half floating in the bottle. Hopefully, this won’t affect the taste or the contest.
The Plungerhead wins the cork weigh-in stage, but I won’t let this affect the outcome of the wines. So there is no winner at this weigh-in as cork preference is purely subjective.
All right guys. Clink glasses and come out drinking.
The glasses of wine come out slowly and present their colors and menisci
The colors are somewhere between dark scarlet and Bulgarian rose, and the 7 Deadly Zins is darker or more opaque. Both menisci have an angelic glow about them. The color of the menisci is like red with a blue tinge. If robots turned into angels after they expired, this would be the color of their halos.
I give no advantage to either in color or menisci, but I am looking over my shoulder waiting for an oenophile Terminator to arrive.
Round Two. The Nose.
We’ll start with the 7 Deadly Zins. It smells jammy with plums, cherry, black licorice, black pepper, and some cola. The girlfriend picks up anise and sour cherries and some muskiness.
The Plungerhead nose is very similar but without the black pepper and less black licorice. It smells livelier and younger. It smells like it has bounce.
As I go back and forth, I pick up the muskiness in the 7 Deadly Zins, too. The other day, I tweeted that the 7 Deadly Zins smells like an old book at Christmas time. I get less Christmas this time.
Ding ding.
This round goes to both. I like the youthful vibrancy in the Plungerhead and it does smell juicy, but the 7 Deadly Zins smells older like its got some stories to tell. The girlfriend like both noses equally.
Round Three. The Tasting.
I’ll start with the Plungerhead this time. The finish is sour, but in a good way. There’s some chalkiness to the texture, too, but it’s a mild chalkiness, which is easily made up for by the jamminess. A jamminess of a flat cola, strawberries, plums, and raspberries. And there’s a pepper to it, too. Maybe a white pepper, but I don’t pick up on that until after the finish. I think get some cloves, too. Man, it’s so yummy. The girlfriend gets strong blackberries especially on the aftertaste. To her it is thinner than expected. I think I agree. The 2008 had a fuller body. (By the way, a flat cola taste isn’t a bad thing unless it’s actually a cola.)
Wow, the finish on the 7 Deadly Zins is really quick. It just disappears on the taste. I really enjoy the lingering finish of the Plungerhead. I like to dwell on it, but the 7 Deadly Zins just fades away. The pepper really comes out in the taste and the anise is there, too, but it’s not annoying. This also has a hint of chalkiness to it. I also get raspberries, for sure, and blackberries or blueberries. It’s also drier than the Plungerhead. The taste of the 7 Deadly Zins, like the nose, is more mature than the Plungerhead. The 7 Deadly Zins is more serious. It reminds me of the library in Meet Joe Black.
In fact, I think I just figured this out. Plungerhead is the Brad Pitt of Zinfandels and 7 Deadly Zins is the Anthony Hopkins of Zins. On the taste, the girlfirend gets blackberries, some anise, spices, and it’s very smooth.
Ding ding ding. That’s the end of the battle. Who wins.
The girlfriend scores 10-9, 10-9, 10-9 in favor of the 7 Deadly Zins.
This judge, that’s me, scores it 10-10, 10-10, 10-9 in favor of the 7 Deadly Zins. For me, the 7 Deadly Zins is just fuller, and as it opens up it gets much better and smoother. (This may explain why the girlfriend thought both noses were equal at the beginning of the match but in the end she chose the 7 Deadly Zins.) The Plungerhead is awesome, but like a young man it comes out full force but then doesn’t go anywhere. It presents everything it has at the beginning. It doesn’t change as the air interacts with it.
Yes, as time goes by, the 7 Deadly Zins just gets more and more awesome, and the Plungerhead just stays at really good. You can’t go wrong with either. And the price isn’t a factor either. The Plungerhead is $12 and the 7 Deadly Zins is $13.
The 7 Deadly Zins and Plungerhead both started at like an 89 or 90 for me, but now the 7 Deadly Zins is like 92.
In the age old question “is better to burn out or fade away?” the Plungerhead is the burnout and the 7 Deadly Zins is the fade away. I wonder which is Stevie Wonder.
For a complete review, go here: http://thelinebreak.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/in-pursuit-of-the-juiciest-wine-day-103-the-battle-of-the-lodi-zins/
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I like Zin. And Lodi does Zin well. Opened this bottle on a bleak Winter night, albeit after a sunny winter afternoon. Nice and jammy on the palate. Very good (85.5).
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High toned raspberry aromas, followed by flavors of white pepper, cinnamon, and more berry. There is a sweetness to the cinnamon/spice aftertaste. Interesting closure.
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Another one of Dulcie's grabs at Whole Paycheck (Foods); she is a sucker for those wine tasting tables on a Saturday. The first thing that grabs is the intriguing opening arrangement that dispenses with the need for a cork screw. This might be a gimmick; but it also provides a handy resealable cork; if one were to wait that long. Previous vintages have drawn a wide range of opinions, though few notes. Overall I was pretty happy: dark inky purplish red color, nose is somewhat brambly, lot of sweet blueberry, blackberry kind of fruit, a little bit of spice and pepper. More on the up than the down with this one.
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1/30/2018 - Whidah Likes this wine: 88 Points
This has sat forgotten in my cellar for quite some time. Hard to say whether it has improved but the nose certainly jumps out. Lovely fruit still in the mouth and a surprising creaminess. Makes a nice aperitf as well as good food wine. I still shudder at the label.
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12/7/2012 - cjheinrich84 wrote: 80 Points
Not bad for a cheap wine but not the best. Somewhat bitter finish.
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8/7/2012 - Cblakejordan wrote: 86 Points
Smokey with tobacco grab. Heavy on the palate, with black cherry, licorice and white pepper. Hints of clove close the wine with mild tannins and a smooth finish.
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5/25/2012 - Whidah wrote: 85 Points
I'm not fond of Zins generally but this got my attention at a blind tasting. Just as well I could't see the label. Brambly nose, fruity in the mouth with good balance and muted tannins. Wonderful value for everyday drinking.
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5/23/2012 - corkscrews wrote: 87 Points
A nose of cherries and spice, dark garnet in color. A medium bodied Zin, with raspberries, black cherries, and spices, a good value. Cool Zork closure and label.
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3/23/2012 - Quarked wrote: 89 Points
This was a nice surprise. Tobacco, pepper and red fruits. Quite a mouthful, holding up even 2 days after opening.
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3/16/2012 - ftleistn wrote: 84 Points
Easy drinking wine. Lots of caramel and plum
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3/14/2012 - Merengue wrote: 87 Points
This was pretty decent. Paired well with grilled top sirloin and latin sides. Fruity, medium weight, better on the second night as first night it was a bit out of balance but it settled down nicely and mellowed a bit.
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2/23/2012 - Jim! Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fantastic. I'm becoming a real believer in Lodi Zin.
Ruby colored, medium body with a nose that was pure jam. Got a lot of strawberry & raspberry on the pallat, with a bit of alcohol that faded after it was open for a few hours. Not a big finish, but nice, with some mild spice.
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2/18/2012 - cra79611 wrote: flawed
The strongest 4-ethylguaiacol fault I have ever had the displeasure of tasting. Undrinkable.
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1/8/2012 - joraesque wrote: 86 Points
This bottle started to come into its own after about 30 minutes, as it became less brambly and fruit forward, and overall better integrated; it then kept evolving over the next hour. Still, not as good as I remember the Plungerhead from a blind tasting three months ago (when it finished first -- was it the 14.9% alcohol?); back then, it had more of the old vine dark fruit character, and less heat on the finish. Tonight, this tasted more like the $15 Lodi wine bottle it is; which is to say it's well priced and a good representation of Lodi Zins, but don't expect anything close to a 90 pointer.
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12/16/2011 - thelinebreak wrote: 90 Points
In this tasting, I'll compare Plungerhead Zinfandel 2009 with the 7 Deadly Zins 2008.
The Plungerhead has a rubber stopper for a cork. It’s tightly sealed in by some winding plastic. It opens easy, and there’s a slight pop to it when you pull out the stopper. I really enjoy these stoppers because they are simple, they don’t affect the taste of the wine, and they never break. They will be a great replacement for cork in this world with limited cork supplies. Plus, most important, you can save and reuse the rubber stoppers for a number of things, including capping other wine bottles after opening them. I like this because sometimes the corks just don’t fit in again, especially those solid hard plastic corks that pretend to look like they are made out of cork but are not, or those other corks with the sponge-like center and the hard plastic casing which never fit in the bottle again. So this cork is a bonus for sure.
The 7 Deadly Zins cork is your standard cork, which is perfectly admirable. Once you pull out a standard cork, you can tell you certain things about the wine, especially from the cork’s stained bottom. How dark is that stain? How far up the cork does it go? Can you stamp the back of your hand with the wet, stained bottom and leave a mark? Does the stain have an odor? These are all useful and fun. This cork, however, broke in half, with one half floating in the bottle. Hopefully, this won’t affect the taste or the contest.
The Plungerhead wins the cork weigh-in stage, but I won’t let this affect the outcome of the wines. So there is no winner at this weigh-in as cork preference is purely subjective.
All right guys. Clink glasses and come out drinking.
The glasses of wine come out slowly and present their colors and menisci
The colors are somewhere between dark scarlet and Bulgarian rose, and the 7 Deadly Zins is darker or more opaque. Both menisci have an angelic glow about them. The color of the menisci is like red with a blue tinge. If robots turned into angels after they expired, this would be the color of their halos.
I give no advantage to either in color or menisci, but I am looking over my shoulder waiting for an oenophile Terminator to arrive.
Round Two. The Nose.
We’ll start with the 7 Deadly Zins. It smells jammy with plums, cherry, black licorice, black pepper, and some cola. The girlfriend picks up anise and sour cherries and some muskiness.
The Plungerhead nose is very similar but without the black pepper and less black licorice. It smells livelier and younger. It smells like it has bounce.
As I go back and forth, I pick up the muskiness in the 7 Deadly Zins, too. The other day, I tweeted that the 7 Deadly Zins smells like an old book at Christmas time. I get less Christmas this time.
Ding ding.
This round goes to both. I like the youthful vibrancy in the Plungerhead and it does smell juicy, but the 7 Deadly Zins smells older like its got some stories to tell. The girlfriend like both noses equally.
Round Three. The Tasting.
I’ll start with the Plungerhead this time. The finish is sour, but in a good way. There’s some chalkiness to the texture, too, but it’s a mild chalkiness, which is easily made up for by the jamminess. A jamminess of a flat cola, strawberries, plums, and raspberries. And there’s a pepper to it, too. Maybe a white pepper, but I don’t pick up on that until after the finish. I think get some cloves, too. Man, it’s so yummy. The girlfriend gets strong blackberries especially on the aftertaste. To her it is thinner than expected. I think I agree. The 2008 had a fuller body. (By the way, a flat cola taste isn’t a bad thing unless it’s actually a cola.)
Wow, the finish on the 7 Deadly Zins is really quick. It just disappears on the taste. I really enjoy the lingering finish of the Plungerhead. I like to dwell on it, but the 7 Deadly Zins just fades away. The pepper really comes out in the taste and the anise is there, too, but it’s not annoying. This also has a hint of chalkiness to it. I also get raspberries, for sure, and blackberries or blueberries. It’s also drier than the Plungerhead. The taste of the 7 Deadly Zins, like the nose, is more mature than the Plungerhead. The 7 Deadly Zins is more serious. It reminds me of the library in Meet Joe Black.
In fact, I think I just figured this out. Plungerhead is the Brad Pitt of Zinfandels and 7 Deadly Zins is the Anthony Hopkins of Zins. On the taste, the girlfirend gets blackberries, some anise, spices, and it’s very smooth.
Ding ding ding. That’s the end of the battle. Who wins.
The girlfriend scores 10-9, 10-9, 10-9 in favor of the 7 Deadly Zins.
This judge, that’s me, scores it 10-10, 10-10, 10-9 in favor of the 7 Deadly Zins. For me, the 7 Deadly Zins is just fuller, and as it opens up it gets much better and smoother. (This may explain why the girlfriend thought both noses were equal at the beginning of the match but in the end she chose the 7 Deadly Zins.) The Plungerhead is awesome, but like a young man it comes out full force but then doesn’t go anywhere. It presents everything it has at the beginning. It doesn’t change as the air interacts with it.
Yes, as time goes by, the 7 Deadly Zins just gets more and more awesome, and the Plungerhead just stays at really good. You can’t go wrong with either. And the price isn’t a factor either. The Plungerhead is $12 and the 7 Deadly Zins is $13.
The 7 Deadly Zins and Plungerhead both started at like an 89 or 90 for me, but now the 7 Deadly Zins is like 92.
In the age old question “is better to burn out or fade away?” the Plungerhead is the burnout and the 7 Deadly Zins is the fade away. I wonder which is Stevie Wonder.
For a complete review, go here: http://thelinebreak.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/in-pursuit-of-the-juiciest-wine-day-103-the-battle-of-the-lodi-zins/
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12/10/2011 - Ombibulous wrote: 85 Points
I like Zin. And Lodi does Zin well. Opened this bottle on a bleak Winter night, albeit after a sunny winter afternoon. Nice and jammy on the palate. Very good (85.5).
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10/15/2011 - brucemll wrote: 86 Points
Fruity. Alcoholic. Dry. Good nose. Not too much finish. Good for the price.
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9/27/2011 - ArizonaWineGuy wrote: 87 Points
Dry, good bit of fruit, not going to offend anyone. Good for the price.
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8/15/2011 - drdebs wrote: 86 Points
High toned raspberry aromas, followed by flavors of white pepper, cinnamon, and more berry. There is a sweetness to the cinnamon/spice aftertaste. Interesting closure.
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6/6/2011 - Dulcie and Aylwin wrote:
Another one of Dulcie's grabs at Whole Paycheck (Foods); she is a sucker for those wine tasting tables on a Saturday. The first thing that grabs is the intriguing opening arrangement that dispenses with the need for a cork screw. This might be a gimmick; but it also provides a handy resealable cork; if one were to wait that long. Previous vintages have drawn a wide range of opinions, though few notes. Overall I was pretty happy: dark inky purplish red color, nose is somewhat brambly, lot of sweet blueberry, blackberry kind of fruit, a little bit of spice and pepper. More on the up than the down with this one.
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6/2/2011 - BrewWench wrote: 80 Points
Strawberry on the nose and on the mouth with black cherry. A fruty wine with a medium finish.
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