2020 El Alma de Jonata

Matt Dees and his team at Jonata presented a stellar set of wines this year. The range has been pretty much the same since the beginning. The Sangre de Jonata is mostly Syrah, while Fenix, Alma de Jonata and Desafio de Jonata are Bordeaux blends based on Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The biggest change is with the Bordeaux wines, which were once true blends, but in 2020, they are heavily focused on single varieties. Whether that is attributable to a maturation of the vineyards or the latest evolution of thinking here, or some of both, the reality is that the 2020s are incredibly exciting, viscerally thrilling wines on a level I have rarely seen in Santa Barbara.