Storybook Mountain Eastern Exposures Zinfandel 2008

Professional Ratings

• 93 Connoisseurs' Guide
  Storybook Mountain Vineyard has always made solid, well-structured Zinfandels of singular style, and, as has been once again shown here, the wines exhibit deep and defined varietal fruit while pulling back from the brink of late-harvest overripeness. There is no chocolate here, no intimations of sweetness, just insistent blackberry fruit graced by a touch of sweet oak and complexing accents of briar and minerals. The wine is full and firm on the palate, and, if already impressive, it is a long way from showing its best.
• 92 Wine & Spirits
  This grows at Jerry Sep's vineyard in the hills above Calistoga, where the morning sun ripens the fruit without turning it to raisins or jam. In 2008, the wine is bright, sappy and intense with plenty of youthful zest and powerful cherry drive. The tannins are meaty and chewy, with the sweetness to match venison stew and the savor to complement roast hedgehog mushrooms.
• 91 Wine Enthusiast
  A first rate Zinfandel, as rich as they come, brimming with intense mountain fruit flavors of blackberries, black currants and cola, with Zin’s black pepper and a savory taste of grilled Canadian bacon. Lush, smooth and tannic, it’s a beautiful wine to drink now with beef stew or even a coq au vin-style dish.