2020 Jonata La Sangre de Jonata

Lastly, the 2020 La Sangre De Jonata (98% Syrah and 2% Viognier) is another stunner, revealing a dense purple hue as well as rock star notes of crème de cassis, blackberry jam, scorched earth, graphite, and spring flowers. Pure, full-bodied, and flawlessly balanced, with beautiful tannins, it's approachable today yet will benefit from just a year or two of bottle age and keep for 15+. It's a brilliant Syrah. The talented winemaking team of Matt Dees and Drew Pickering continue to keep Jonata near the top of the pyramid in Santa Barbara County. Pulling all from their estate vineyard in Ballard Canyon, which is mostly sandy soils, they make a wealth of wines, yet the quality is spectacular across the board. In general, the wines are a touch more polished and approachable today than in the past (which I think is a good thing), and while they’ll still benefit from bottle age, they offer plenty of pleasure in their youth.

The 2020 La Sangre de Jonata, the estate's Syrah, is another profoundly beautiful, mesmerizing wine. Over the years, the Sangre has gained tremendously in precision, a combination of the vines getting older and also move towards picking earlier and generally pushing the wine less. The result is Syrah that sizzles with saline energy, power and vertical intensity. Ripe red fruit, pomegranate, blood orange and incense all soar out of the glass. I wouldn't dream of touching a bottle any time soon, as the 2020 is very primary and undeveloped. Its stature, however, is impossible to miss.