2005 Seven Sinners Napa Valley Syrah Wine Review
Ok - I bought this wine for four reasons, without doing any research. First, I love Syrahs. (Shiraz is another description for the same grape). Yes, there’s nothing like a good Syrah. Find one and try it so that you know what I mean. My thinking here was that even if this was not the best Syrah, it would be better than a bad pinot noir. I hate bad Pinots. Yet, I’ve rarely met a Syrah that I didn’t like.
Second, this wine was a 2004 vintage when I bought it, so it’s had a good 4 years to lay around (hopefully without too much temperature change and movement). Many Syrahs today are great right out of the bottle.
Most of the stuff that came out of Napa (where this wine is from) in 2004 was good product. It was a great year for most vintners in the “valley”. So for trying out a new label, ‘04 it was a safe gamble in my opinion.
Third, I just loved the packaging. I liked the name of the winery - Seven Sinners. Hmmmmm. As I stood in the aisle holding the bottle contemplating what’s in this brands name, I had fantasies of the owners being seven ex-cons who had successfully laundered their money and parlayed it into a mainstream winery business, implicitly naming their legitimate enterprise to showcase their eternal bond of dirty deeds. This particular product was the tribute to their former business model: RANSOM.
Probably not! But it was a fun thought just the same.
The glass was big and strong, not el-cheapo for sure. And of course the label, who can miss the label: Flames. I love the symbolism of fire and this product’s merchandising did a great job of everything good merchandisers should do. On the shelf in the store and on the table at home, this bottle has a presence. It looks bad. Not Michael Jackson bad, but Harley Davidson bad. Devil bad. Borderline evil.
Fourth and last, it was on sale. The regular price was $35 and I think I paid $28. I’m always up for a deal on decent wine and this was no exception.
Ok - onto a quick review. Decanted for 20 minutes. On the nose, lots of cherry and a little menthol for me.
On the palette, I could have sworn that someone artificially flavored this product with ground chili. At first I thought the bottle might even be ‘off’. Then I thought - whoa, this stuff is way too hot…almost like what a straight shot of isopropyl alcohol must be like. Then I realized it wasn’t hot in the sense of too much alcohol, but hot in the sense of spicyness.
Spice is the overwhelming quality that I and others at dinner picked up. It is actually a very novel twist on what is otherwise a very smooth and drinkable varietal. Many will not like this product for it’s spicyness. It is a product that’s totally in line with the packaging on the bottle - now the flames made perfect sense to me.
If you wanted to cool off the spicyness, I’d suggest letting it breathe for a few hours and that might balance out the spicy quality with the other notes like dark red cherry. It does live up to its back label description of purity. It tastes pure.
The finish is even and strong, like most Syrah’s.
Could I drink this wine every day? No way. Would I drink it again? Probably not. It’s too much of a departure for my favorite Syrah flavor profile to buy again. But that’s just my preference. Was it worth trying? Absolutely. Value? Not great, at least here in B.C. In the U.S., probably much better value.
And let’s not forget about that packaging - it’s evil looking in a fun kind of way. Maybe you could bring a bottle to a biker party or your next Ouija Board outing to help summon the evil paranormal forces?
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About the Author: I value good design, growth, effectiveness, simplicity, profitability, lots of sleep, tons of laughter and above all, freedom. If it makes money - it's a business. If it doesn't make money - it's a hobby. Period.
