2008 Jonata La Sangre de Jonata

(98% syrah and 2% viognier): Opaque purple. Ripe, expansive aromas of boysenberry, cassis, vanilla and violet, complicated by olive and cracked pepper nuances and a hint of cola. Lush and densely packed, offering sweet, broad black and blue fruit flavors and sexy oak spice qualities. Dusty tannins add shape and grip to the very long, spice- and smoke-accented finish, which echoes the cassis and vanilla notes. Nothing shy about this big boy.

The 2008 La Sangre de Jonata is a huge, opulent wine. Layers of blue and black fruit, graphite and licorice flow from this large-scaled, muscular wine. This is a super-ripe style that needs a few years in bottle to settle down. It is also the only wine I tasted where the alcohol is slightly intrusive. La Sangre is 98% Syrah and 2% Viognier. The wine was aged in medium sized barrels, 50% new.

The 2008 La Sangre de Jonata is a huge, opulent wine. Layers of blue and black fruit, graphite and licorice flow from this large-scaled, muscular Syrah. This is a super-ripe style that needs a few years in bottle to settle down. It is also the only wine I tasted where the alcohol is slightly intrusive. La Sangre de Jonata is 98% Syrah and 2% Viognier. The wine was aged in medium-sized barrels, 50% new. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2022. General Manager Armand de Maigret, Assistant Winemaker Drew Pickering and Vineyard Manager Ruben Solorzano showed me a wide range of wines at Jonata. The estate is currently owned by investor Stan Kroenke. Matt Dees is Winemaker, while Michel Rolland is the consulting oenologist. This large, sprawling estate in Ballard Canyon spans 600+ acres, 82 of which are under vine. Vintage 2008 was a colder year overall, with significant amounts of shatter and heat spikes towards the end of the growing season. The 2009s show more overt, fruit forward personalities. Both vintages are quite beautiful. I also tasted a number of older wines. With the exception of the Sangre, the wines appear to be aging at a fairly fast pace. Of course, drinking windows remain a highly personal aspect of wine appreciation, but readers who own the estate’s older vintages should be checking in on the wines periodically to chart their development. I don’t see too much upside potential from cellaring those wines, the 2005s and 2006s in particular, further. Accordingly I have kept drinking windows for the 2008s and 2009s relatively short. I will be thrilled if the wines end up exceeding my expectations, but at this stage only the Sangre appears to be a wine with medium and long-term aging potential. Tel. (805) 564-8581; www.jonata.com