2009 Jonata Todos

Readers who want to explore the Jonata wines without investing in the top bottlings will want to check out the 2009 Todos, which is strikingly beautiful. It shows marvelous intensity, great depth and tons of intensity from start to finish. Layers of dark red and black fruit and flowers flow effortlessly from this flashy, totally dazzling wine. Today the 2009 boasts huge fruit and an equally compelling personality. Although priced well below some of the other wines in this lineup, it is not clear to me the Todos is far off the mark of those wines at all. Todos is a bit of a kitchen sink blend composed of 63% Syrah, 12% Sangiovese, 11% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and dollops of Viognier, Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.

Readers who want to explore the Jonata wines without investing in the top bottlings will want to check out the 2009 Todos, which is strikingly beautiful. It shows marvelous intensity, great depth and tons of intensity from start to finish. Layers of dark red and black fruit and flowers flow effortlessly from this flashy, totally dazzling wine. Today, the 2009 boasts huge fruit and an equally compelling personality. Although priced well below some of the other wines in this lineup, it is not clear to me the Todos is far off the mark of those wines at all. Todos is a bit of a kitchen sink blend composed of 63% Syrah, 12% Sangiovese, 11% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and dollops of Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. Jonata truly stands out in the Central Coast as a producer of exceptionally refined wines. This year I tasted with Winemaker Matt Dees and General Manager Armand de Maigret. According to Dees, macerations were quite long in 2009 because the grapes had very high levels of phenolic ripeness. Vintage 2010 was trickier, especially with regards to rain that claimed at least one victim, the Cabernet Franc-based El Alma de Jonata, which was not produced that year. The 2009 reds were all in bottle, while the 2010 reds were in barrel. I also tasted the new releases from The Hilt, a new Pinot/Chardonnay project that is reviewed separately in these pages. Tel. (805) 564-8581

Also showing consistently from barrel and bottle, the 2009 Jonata Winery Todos (64% Syrah and the rest Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier, and Grenache aged for 21 months in 225-600 Liter barrels, 40-50% new) delivers a smoky, meaty profile, with pepper, leather, roasted meats, and perfectly ripe fruit all emerging with air. Chewy and rich on the palate, with a full-bodied, structured palate, integrated acidity, and a fair does of tannin, this is reasonably approachable now, yet really needs a handful of years in the cellar, and should age gracefully for a upwards of a decade.