Aromas and flavors of red raspberries and spice, rich and hearty, soft tannins.

From another high-elevation site, the 2012 Zinfandel Perli Vineyard shows good acidity, medium body and represents an intriguing blend of 81% Zinfandel, 16% Merlot and the rest Syrah, aged in 25% new oak. This wine shows almost Pinot Noir-like berry fruit, earth, herbs and spice. It should be consumed over the next several years.

It's so terrific when wood is so well integrated into a red wine that, though its aroma is upfront on first snort, it's also become part of the wine so that it doesn't call unneeded attention to itself and distract from what else is there: buckets of bright red fruit (raspberry and cherry especially), with subtle notes of brown cooking spice and black pepper. America's new zinfandels are killer delicious, like this one. Gimme deep-dish or anything with tomatoes in it or on it.

Our favorite of the Edmeades was 81 percent zinfandel, 16 percent merlot, and 3 percent syrah. It has a very intense sweet and round berry fruit, with some nice spice notes.

Nestled in Mendocino County's Anderson Valley, this labels focus is squarely on zinfandel; they released six earlier this year. A trend emerges from their refreshingly natural and hands-on approach: all these wines have balance, a supple texture and solid integration. But my favorite is from Piffero Vineyard, where grapes struggle in tough, rocky red soil to produce powerful flavors. This wine is rich and jammy, yet velvety, and delicious red berry flavors are enhanced by spice rack touches.

Aromas and flavors of sweet black cherries and spice, smooth, long finish.

It is very soft and round and pleasant to drink with 1 percent syrah added to the blend.

Deep red hue, aromas and flavors of black plums and herbs, rich and hearty, soft tannins.

The 2012 Zinfandel Shamrock Vineyard, which is 84% Zinfandel and 16% Syrah from a very high vineyard at 2,800 feet, is aged 15 months in 15% new oak. It shows red currants, pomegranate and raspberry in a red-fruit oriented style. It is medium-bodied with crisp, tart acids and a heady finish. Drink it over the next several years.

With 16 percent syrah, this was a bit more intense with abundant berry fruit that would stand up well to food.

2012 Edmeades Zinfandel, “Gianoli Vineyard,” Mendocino Ridge (100 percent zinfandel): deep, dark purple hue, spicy, complex flavors of black cherry jam, truffles and bittersweet chocolate, full body, big, ripe tannins; a single-vineyard wine grown on a Mendocino Ridge peak called “islands in the clouds” because it pokes up through the morning Pacific Ocean fog; a wine for hearty, spicy foods like pulled pork, barbecued chicken, spicy beef chili; $31.

Some of my favorite zinfandels are in the $15-$20 range. They taste like zinfandel rather than super-ripe berry syrup...The 2011 Edmeades Mendocino Zinfandel ($20) is bright and spicy with a hint of white pepper.

A ripe zinfandel but not over the top. Layered, with fruit flavors of blackberry, black cherry, plum and a hint of rhubarb. Briary, with an undercurrent of cracked black pepper. Nice length. A great price point for the value.

2011 Edmeades Zinfandel, Mendocino County: rich and hearty, with aromas and flavors of vanilla, red plums and spice, firm tannins; $20.

It's a bit hard-edged when it's first opened, but this full-bodied red wine quickly opens up to display vibrant flavors of blackberries, plums, herbs and chocolate and black pepper. There's a a port-like quality to this blockbuster, but it's a fully dry wine. It's pretty gripping.

Love Zinfandel? This one’s different. Edmeades Zinfandel is an iconic wine with a unique personality. It’s got the jammy, sassy, spicy slam of Zinfandel with a full-fledged orchestra backing it up — think 11 percent Syrah and 10 percent Petite Sirah! This baby can play a piano! It’s got big fruit, it’s got oak, it’s got alcohol, it’s lush. The unusual combination works — it’s a powerful, elegant blend. Aromas are “ripe cherries, blueberries, cocoa powder and graham crackers” to borrow winemaker Ben Salazar’s words. On the palate, it has breadth and texture. It’s aged 16 months in 48 percent French oak barrels and 52 percent American — 20 percent of which is new.

2010 Edmeades Zinfandel, Mendocino County (79 percent zinfandel, 11 percent syrah, 10 percent petite sirah): hint of oak, concentrated flavors of black raspberries and black coffee; $20.

This is a surefire hit to go with pork and beef, especially if there is a ketchup-based sauce. Ripe, forward blueberry and cherry flavors with hints of coffee and chocolate.

What a delightful find: clean, pure zinfandel flavors of berry, spice, a juicy entry and fairly generous finish. Slightly chilled this medium-weight red wine is superb with lighter meats, and is worth twice the price.

Generous cherry aromas abound in this zinfandel from Northern California. Brambly dark berry fruit and easy tannins. Blended with petite sirah and syrah.

Call me a throwback, but I still prefer these big zins that are so oafish to those afflicted with sensitive Euro-palates. At least when, as with this well-crafted wine from Edmeades, a high alcohol level (15.5 percent) is concealed behind gobs of fruit. This full-bodied red boasts intense flavors of blackberry, cassis and chocolate that combine to give it a Porto-like character without the sweetness. Somehow it manages to be burly and smooth at the same time. Serve it with food with the muscle to wrestle with it.

A ripe zin with notes of blackberry, plum and cracked black pepper. Zesty.

The moment I read the first sentence of Edmeades' winery philosophy, I knew I would like this Zinfandel. Mendocino is more than a geographical location, it's a state of mind. On a photography field trip from Berkeley in the summer of '71, I discovered the Mendocino state of mind...but I digress. Aromas of cherry pie, toasty crust and scents of wild herbs wafting into the dining room. Flavors of ripe cherry, smoky plum, with earthy and vanilla notes. Unfiltered, unfined, indigenous yeast fermentation. Where's my Volkswagen van, I gotta visit this place again!

From 50-year-old vineyards in the California hills comes an artisanal and very American wine. Rich, redolent of earth and smoke, baked plums and cassis, it has considerable intensity and structure and, despite the 15.5 per cent ABV, does not feel over-alcoholised.