The 2009 Zinfandel Mayacamas Range is a simple, straightforward, easygoing wine with good varietal definition and modest complexity. Dried cherries, licorice and tobacco are some of the notes that come through. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2015. Tel. (707) 942-5310; www.storybookwines.com

The 2008 Zinfandel Mayacamas Range is very similar in style to the 2009, but it has a little more structure. Here, too, the forward aromas and flavors suggest the wine needs to be enjoyed over the next 2-3 years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2014. Tel. (707) 942-5310; www.storybookwines.com

Mountain-grown fruit gives this wine an exceptional intensity and purity of flavor. Tastes like the essence of blackberries, sprinkled with black pepper, anise and cocoa. As rich as it is, the finish is perfectly dry. There’s a rusticity to the texture, but that’s why Zinfandel is Zinfandel. Drink over the next six years, especially with barbecue or fine roasted meats and root vegetables.——S.H.(12/31/2011)—— 91

The least expensive wine is the 2007 Zinfandel Mayacamas Range, which showed terrific character the day I tasted it. Loads of berry fruit (especially raspberries and dark cherries) intermixed with some crushed rock and minerality jumps from the glass of this medium to full-bodied, elegant, pure wine. Drink it over the next 4-5 years. One of the most reliable producers of Zinfandel in Napa, proprietor Jerry Seps continues to produce very elegant Zinfandels that lean more toward wines with a Pinot Noir sensibility than many other Zinfandels.Tel. (707) 942-5310; www.storybookwines.com