Jonata was founded in 2004 as one of California’s most ambitious new estate projects of its era, situated on a 600-acre property in Ballard Canyon within the Santa Ynez Valley. The estate shares structural and philosophical DNA with Screaming Eagle through common ownership ties, and like that Napa icon, it operates primarily through a tightly controlled mailing list. Winemaker Matt Dees has been at Jonata since its inception, developing the site’s identity across every vintage.

La Sangre de Jonata is the estate’s flagship Syrah, named with reference to the “blood” of the property’s identity. The wine is produced from the estate’s own vineyards on the rolling golden hills of Ballard Canyon, where high concentrations of Careaga sand provide excellent drainage and force the vine roots to penetrate deep for water and nutrients. Syrah is complemented by a small addition of Viognier in the classic Northern Rhône tradition. The 2006 is recognised by the estate as one of their “favourite vintages,” alongside 2008 and 2010.

Jonata has built one of the most remarkable critical records of any California estate launched in the 2000s, attracting multiple perfect scores from Jeb Dunnuck and consistently high ratings from Vinous and the Wine Advocate for La Sangre specifically. Robert Parker described Jonata as “one of California’s most exciting new wineries” in an early review, and the estate’s reputation has only grown since. The 2006, one of the earliest and most collectible vintages of La Sangre, now represents a rare opportunity to taste the wine with significant bottle age.

Deep ruby with purple highlights and considerable youthful concentration remaining. The nose offers dark fruit, black pepper, soy sauce, lavender and wild herbs with a savoury, meaty undertone. Full-bodied and richly textured on the palate, the tannins remain present but now supple, with a long and perfumed finish of great persistence. Drink now through 2030.