Thoughts on Jonata?

What’s everyone’s opinion of the wines from Screaming Eagle’s ownerships’ other label?

Great wines made by one of the top winemakers in our area, Matt Dees. Both these and there ‘second labels’, The Pairing and The Hilt, are outstanding. Pricing on the Jonata stuff is ‘aggressive’ for the area, but the wines are quite good.

Hope that helps - and I’m sure others will pipe in here as well.

Cheers!

Only had one, the Fenix. Turned out to be not my style nor grape. I was gifted the bottle and if I had chosen, would have bought something else. Rated it about an 88, but again, I am not into merlot so…

And I would say that this is probably not their strongest grape Matt does a great job with Sauv Blanc, Syrah, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, Pinot and a few others . . .

Cheers

I’m a fan. They have a way with cab franc that is particularly pleasing to my palate–the ‘El Alma’ is truly delicious. The ‘Todos’ at ~$45/bottle is consistently interesting and not overextracted (I wouldn’t think to grow sangio in Santa Ynez, but hey, why not?). Well worth the price of admission, IMHO.

You may find some useful information and thoughts on the wines in this write-up I did a couple of years ago for the Grape-Nutz website, on a visit with Jonata winemaker Matt Dees.

Visit to Jonata, January 2016

Sangio actually does pretty well up here. Try some of Palmina’s stuff - and find out folks purchasing Sangio from White Hawk Vineyard . . .

Cheers

Over the years have liked their wines and found them at auction, usually below list pricing. Bought three bottles of their desert wine, La Miel, a few years ago, still have one, these were fantastic.

Current offer has the 14 Todos at $50 a pop. Have some interest in that, but it’s a bit pricey for a few bottles with shipping to the East coast. Sounds like it might be worth it though!

You might be able to find at retail in your area - perhaps reach out to the winery, speak with Wayne, and see?

Cheers

I’ve purchased a spectrum of wines from Jonata for the past 5 years and have found them to be interesting well made wines, but I didn’t purchase my allocation in 2017 and have been removed from their mailing list.

Big wines. Very big. If you’re thinking the Screaming Eagle elegance might translate to the Central Coast (Larry will yell at me for not saying Santa Barbara, but Jonata describes itself as Central Coast) - it doesn’t.

Alan,

Yep, taking exception as you expected!!!

The Jonata wines themselves are all estate IIRC, and their estate is in Ballard Canyon, within the Ballard Canyon AVA, which is in SB County. Now according to Cellartracker, they are ‘Central Coast’, but it is SB County

And I’m not sure I would agree with you about ‘elegance’ - I think that there top notch wines are quite elegant - at least the ones I’ve tried.

Cheers!

Larry, I was going to write SB, but Jonata’s own web site only uses Central Coast, not SB. Yell at them, not me

I admit I have not had one in a couple years, but the half dozen times I’ve had a Jonata since their inception, they have been quite large scale, nothing moderate or elegant. That’s not a criticism, just an observation for someone asking about the wines.

A bit pricey but the quality is there. Had a phenomenal tasting there last April. Gracious in every way. Wines were so outstanding we jumped in. Favorite was El Alma, the Cabernet Franc. We also really enjoyed the Cabernet.

Neither are quite ready yet, though I suspect the El Alma will be ready first. We have enjoyed many many of their 06 Todos, a Syrah blend. Based on one experience with these we felt good about our most recent purchases.

I am a big fan. The top level ages wonderfully and if they are too big for you, just give them time. The Todos is really a great value these days. The top wines get pricey, but I like to buy on occasion. Particularly the Cab Franc,

Their Sauvignon Blanc is outstanding, but very, very expensive.

Reviving this to get updated info on Janata and Hilt. I have not tried any, but will be in the area in a few weeks and was thinking about making a reservation to try their wines. Group of five though, and it appears their is only the $85pp tasting option to select. Seems a bit steep, especially not having ever tried these wines. I don’t even know what price point these wines are??

Hi Michael, the Jonata wines range from $50-$150 a bottle. The Hilt wines are roughly $45-$80. So high-end pricing. Like many in this thread, I like the Jonata wines, especially Todos and high-end Syrahs. The Hilt wines are good but I wouldn’t put them in the same tier as the top Pinot/Chard producers in the area.

I love these wines and you can find Todos on sale at retail for $40 or less (but $50 from Winery I think), which I think makes it was tremendous value. I recently had a 2006 Todos that was really great and seemed to have aged very nicely. I also recently had a 2011 El Desafio de Jonata, which I enjoyed more than several more expensive Napa Cabs that were opened alongside it.