2017 El Desafio de Jonata
Buying options
Tasting notes
The Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated cuvée is the 2017 El Desafio De Jonata, which includes 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. It's another inky colored wine from this team and offers a brilliant bouquet of crème de cassis, tobacco leaf, cedar, bay leaf, and crushed rocks. Beautifully concentrated and balanced, with a Bordeaux-like structure and regal style, it's a magical Cabernet Sauvignon that's going to benefit from 7-8 years of bottle age yet keep for 20-30 years. The 2017s from the team at Jonata are terrific across the board with all the wines showing classic, balanced characters. Unfortunately, the 2018s weren’t ready to be tasted, so I’ll report on those in next year’s Central Coast report. Readers on a budget shouldn’t miss the Todos cuvée, which is always a kitchen sink blend (it’s normally Syrah heavy) of just about every varieties Jonata works with. It’s a year in, year out, stunning wine that sells for half of what the top cuvées go for.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2017 El Desafio de Jonata is another positively stellar wine in this range. Two thousand seventeen is one of the few years in which Cabernet is so dominant. Rich and explosive, with tremendous vertical thrust, the 2017 oozes with class and intensity. Crème de cassis, new leather, licorice, sweet spice and menthol are some of the many notes that build as this statuesque, alluring wine shows off its pedigree. In 2017, the blend is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Wow...!
The 2017 El Desafio de Jonata possesses remarkable tension and energy, with beautifully delineated aromas and flavors. Crème de cassis, menthol and grilled herb notes add freshness to this classy, super-polished Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend.
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.