2011 La Sangre de Jonata
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Tasting notes
(35% new French oak): Bright purple. Expansive, exotic bouquet of black raspberry, potpourri, bacon fat, smoky minerals and incense; smells like a high-class Cote-Rotie. Fat and velvety on entry, then more taut in the mid-palate, showing superb energy and focus to its deep, sweet flavors of red and dark berries and violet pastille. Completely stains the palate but gives no impression of excess weight. A floral note lingers on the long, sappy finish, which betrays only a hint of dusty tannins.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Rose petals, mint, savory herbs and dark-toned fruit meld together in the 2011 La Sangre de Jonata, a wine that has really come together over the last year. Exquisite and impeccably balanced in the glass, the 2011 is bright, articulate and wonderfully expressive. In this vintage, winemaker Matt Dees air-dried a portion of the fruit to give the wine a little more body, an approach that worked very well. Dollops of Grenache and Viognier round out the blend.
More lively and pure, with brighter acidity than the 2010, the 2011 La Sangre de Jonata gives up plenty of violets, toast, licorice, chocolate and blackberry fruit as well as a full-bodied, supple and gorgeously focused and pure feel in the mouth. More approachable than the 2010, and scoring high on drinkability, this beauty will benefit from another year or thee and drink nicely through 2026. Drink 2015-2026. This was an incredible tasting with winemaker Matt Dees. This estate continues to produce some of the most impressive, long-lived wines in Santa Barbara. As I’ve learned from past tasting, it’s always best to schedule this appointment at the end of the day as these effort have no shortage of tannin and can wreak havoc on one’s palate. While I’ve routinely tasted the La Sangre de Jonata for a number of years now, it was great to be able to go back through past vintages of this estate’s other wines. In addition to these efforts bottled under the Jonata label, I was also able to taste their The Hilt and The Pairing releases, both of which are also reviewed in this report (and highly recommended). Tel. (805) 564-8581; www.jonata.com
The 2011 La Sangre de Jonata is a bit of a departure from past vintages in that Grenache is part of the blend. Winemaker Matt Dees also experimented with slightly drying some of his Syrah and incorporated some press juice into the final blend. This is an especially aromatic, lifted Sangre, with distinct inflections from the addition of Grenache, Viognier and whole clusters in the Syrah. Floral and spice notes lead to expressive fruit informed by the slight drying of the Syrah. Overall, this is another terrific showing from Jonata. The 2011 is 91% Syrah, 6% Grenache and 3% Viognier, aged in medium-sized French oak barrels, 35% new.
About the producer
Jonata is amongst a handful of truly exciting wineries from Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara – a unique fine wine region of incredible versatility.