Santa Barbara

• Santa Lucia Highlands
• Santa Rita Hills
• Santa Ynez Valley

This was surprisingly tight and after opening, it was recorked and consumed the following  evening.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is deep with black raspberries, milk chocolate, black pepper, slight violets and slight roasted herbs.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is drinking nicely but not a huge Syrah.  Plenty of ripeness though.  Flavors of black raspberries, milk chocolate, and spice.  Slight char.  Good finish.  This drinks well on its own and would  work well with spiced meats or fowl.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  

This is the value in the Jonata lineup.  It is a "kitchen sink" blend that has always been excellent.  This vintage is 66% Syrah, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon,

From Magnum.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, black pepper, slight roasted meats and herbs and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Great balance.  Plenty of depth.  Flavors of black raspberries, black pepper and char.  Nice acidity.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now and even from a 750ml should have a decade left.  It is great on its own and went great with a vegetable Lasagna.  

This is the inaugural vintage of this wine which tries to offer a bit of price relief while producing a quality Pinot Noir.  For the most part, they succeed.  It is a lighter in style Pinot.  Pale ruby  in color with slight blue hues, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, cinnamon, spice and just a slight menthol note.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, cherries, bitter cherries and slight spice.  Moderate finish.  It lists 13.8%abv on the label.  This is nice but better with a bit of food.  It should work nicely with fried appetizers.  Drink over the next five yea

Jonata makes some great wines, and while they can be a bit pricey, they would likely be a lot more if they were from Napa and not Santa Barbara. This is a blend of 88% Cabernet Franc, 10% cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petite Verdot.  Purple in color with some garnet hues, mostly opaque and bright.  Great nose.  Black cherries, tobacco, leather and slight spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is ripe (no green bell peppers) but not overblown at all.  Depth.

This is obviously very young but surprisingly accessible.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has boysenberries, graphite, gravel, spice, and char.  Great, plush texture.  Good acidity.  Lots of vibrancy.  On the palate, firm tannins.  Loads of boysenberry fruit with underlying char.  Tighter on the palate, but opens nicely with a few hours of air.  This will improve with a few more years in the cellar.  Hold for another three to five and drink for ten to fifteen after that.  Nice on its own, this worked well with vegetarian Indian cuisine.