Brand story
Jonata La Sangre de Jonata
La Sangre — “the blood” — is the wine that runs closest to Jonata's heart. Released alongside El Desafío in the estate's debut 2004 vintage, it is the fullest expression of Syrah from Ballard Canyon, and of the conviction that this sand has something no other California site does. The current release marks a milestone the estate has been working toward for years: the first bottling made entirely from own-rooted Syrah grown in pure beach sand, vines standing on their own roots rather than grafted ones.
The blend is 94% Syrah, 4% Petite Sirah and 2% Viognier, aged 20 months in 35% new French oak with the rest neutral, so the fruit stays in front. It opens on creosote and violet, black fruit and black spice, cracked pepper, blackberry, jasmine and smoked meat, with black truffle, blood orange, Kalamata olive and dried Mission fig on the palate and a lifted, minty finish. Rated in the high nineties across the board and expected to hold for two decades, it is savage and precise at once — the estate's blood, as advertised.
