Edmeades Winery Zinfandel Mendocino County 2008

Winemaker Notes - This year's tannins are soft and supple, the cherry fruit is vivacious, and the addition of Petite Sirah and Syrah adds a nice rural feel with earthy notes and some nice structure. Aging the wine should help it evolve into a nicely layered and complex Zinfandel, with toast and smokiness from the oak picking up in intensity.

When I drink this wine, I think of raspberry cobbler. Edmeades is a compilation of Zinfandel rounded out with a little Petit Sirah, Merlot, Syrah and Grenache. The partnerships between these varietals offers up medium to full bodied wine with a nose of raspberries, spice, cedar, salted apples and cherries with exploding flavors of bramble, raspberries, vanilla, tart cherries all leading to a stonefruit finish. It is a better representation of Zinfandel than other wines that are composed of 100% of the varietal. Drink now for immediate gratification or wait 3ndash;5 years for a more complex hedonistic experience!

This is a beautiful 2006 Zinfandel that sells for a song. This has got to be one of the better values, and of course, 2006 looks to be a vastly superior vintage to 2005 for Zinfandel. This wine, which has some Petite Sirah, Merlot, Syrah, and Grenache blended in, exhibits deep ruby color and a big, sweet nose of peppery black cherry and raspberry liqueur intermixed with spring flowers and earth. The wine is medium to full-bodied, ripe, and altogether a hedonistic mouthful of big Zinfandel. Drink it over the next 3ndash;4 years.

Edmeades 08 Zinfandel

Ripe and zesty, with dark plum and licorice aromas and wild berry, toasty sage and cracked pepper flavors that finish with appealingly rustic tannins. Drink now through 2012.

Bring on the barbecue for this explosive, high-octane Zin. Ripe to the point of overripe, it shows flavors of blackberries, currants, cassis and raisins, liberally dusted with crushed black pepper and unsweetened cocoa. The bigtime tannins will cut through rich meats slathered in BBQ sauce.

A spunky little Zinfandel thatrsquo;s notable for its wild berry, white pepper and mint aromas and its supple raspberry, mocha and anise flavors. Drink now.