JONATA & The Hilt Estate Wine Tasting with Special Guest Winemaker Matt Dees

The name Jonata is an homage to the history of the region. Jonata translates to “Tall Oak” and is native to the local Chumash Indian tribe. The land was part of the 1845 Mexican land grant of Rancho San Carlos de Jonata. Today, Jonata sits at the heart of the original land grant.

To understand the wines made by The Hilt, one might need to come visit the hard and harsh conditions under which they are born. The unobstructed, ocean facing east-west valley known as Sta. Rita Hills Valley is a complex AVA. One could divide it into four quadrants: northern-facing, southern-facing, close to the ocean, and further inland from the ocean. With such a frame, The Hilt’s favorite vineyards are in the northern-facing, closest to the ocean, windswept quadrant. These  sites are the worst place for a grape grower, but the best ones for a winemaker.

Join us as we welcome winemaker Matt Dees for a special wine tasting featuring some current releases as well as a few library selections from these two top level wineries from southern California.  The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $195 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. 

JONATA & THE HILT ESTATE WINE TASTING WITH SPECIAL GUEST WINEMAKER MATT DEES
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
7:30 PM

2020 Hilt “Radian Vineyard” Chardonnay Santa Rita Hills
Price: $ 111.00                                  Sale $97.68
"The Hilt Radian Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay offers pure Radian aromas of quince, apricot, honeysuckle, lemon curd and lime zest. An expansive vintage on the palate with silky and suave perfumed yellow fruit. Pink pearl apple and D'anjou pear. Richness on the entry leads to focus, purity, pear-like structure and laser-like focus. Fresh, vibrant and sprinkled with sea salt. Extended months on lees in stainless steel tank added a new dimension of texture and length, while simultaneously allowing the true electric nature of this wild site to shine through."

2020 Hilt “Bentrock Vineyard” Chardonnay Santa Rita Hills
Price: $111.00                   Your Price: $97.68
Pure Radian aromas of quince, apricot, honeysuckle, lemon curd and lime zest. An expansive vintage on the palate with silky and suave perfumed yellow fruit. Pink pearl apple and D’anjou pear. Richness on the entry leads to focus, purity, pear-like structure and laser-like focus. Fresh, vibrant and sprinkled with sea salt. ±xtended months on lees in stainless steel tank added a new dimension of texture and length, while simultaneously allowing the true electric nature of this wild site to shine through.

2021 Hilt "Radian Vineyard" Pinot noir
Price: $ 111.00                  Sale $97.68
Pure and dark Radian fruit (like ripe black raspberries) dominates the ose alongside lifted notes of cracked pepper and game. Very perfumed and floral vintage, but also graced with the weight, tension and focus that define this venerable site. Vein of pure red fruit on the attack. Bright and concise. Plum skin tannin and black truffle. Buoyant and fresh, but not lacking fruit. Velvety texture and a dusty and long finish.  An inviting, alive and sensual vintage with vibrancy and seemingly endless energy

2021 Hilt “Bentrock Vineyard” Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills
Price: $ 99.00                     Sale $87.12
Truly a wild expression of the Bentrock vineyard with the entire spectrum of fruit colors being expressed: red to orange to blue to black.  Classic Bentrock blood orange, but also mulberry, black cherry and red plum. A juicy and exuberant vintage with big impact and a lovely chalky structure. Touch of charming oak in structure. Tight and reticent today,
but one can sense the fleshy texture waking up. Will age beautifully and offer pleasure for years to come. Lovely balance between tannin and dense raspberry on the finish with the fruit outlasting the mouthwatering structure

2021 Jonata Flor Sauvignon Blanc
Price: $87.00     Sale $76.56
Already a remarkably seductive wine even at this early stage. Like so many of the 2021 wines, it is graced with a profound aromatic expression. Honeysuckle, lime curd and chamomile. Grapefruit peel and nutmeg. Strong notes of lime zest and wildflower honey on the broad and generous mid-palate. The wine is already so harmonious, but its energy and tension will no doubt carry it beautifully in the cellar for a decade on the path of evolution. Notes of galangal and loquat push with the long and luxurious finish. Everything in its right place with this edition of Flor.  - Winemaker, Matt Dees

2020 Jonata Alma Cabernet Franc
Price: $190.50                   Sale $167.64
(98 Points) The 2020 El Alma de Jonata, Jonata's Cabernet Franc-based wine, is ridiculously great. The Franc is way up in 2020, and that results in a heady, explosive red that takes command of all the senses as it demands full attention. An exotic mélange of dark red fruit, wild flowers, mocha, spice and new leather build as the 2020 gains volume and resonance with air, with plenty of supporting structure to wrap it all together. It's one of the greatest Bordeaux wines I have ever tasted in Santa Barbara. Wow!!  Vinous

2019 Jonata DeSafio Cabernet Sauvignon Ballard Canyon
Price: $213.00                   Sale $187.44
(97 points)  “The 2019 El Desafio de Jonata is one of the most complete wines I have tasted from Jonata. It is exceptionally harmonious for such a young wine, a big departure from the days when these wines were pretty monolithic at a similar stage. Inky dark red/purplish berry fruit, lavender and spice meld together in a Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine that marries unctuous fruit and freshness, with polished tannins to wrap it all up. The ability to make wine in a new, state of the art facility seems to have really paid off. 97+ (AG)” (6/2021)  Vinous

2005 Jonata La Sangre Syrah Santa Ynez Valley
Price: $190.50                   Sale $167.64
(96 points) “A spectacular wine that has a long life ahead of it, the 2005 Jonata Winery La Sangre de Jonata strikes a perfect balance between ripe, decadent fruit, and firm, edgy underlying structure. The wine shows loads of cassis and assorted dark fruits that are intermixed with coffee, charcoal, and grilled meat nuances on the nose. A classic example of California Syrah!”(11/2010)  Jeb Dunnuck

2009 Jonata La Sangre Syrah Santa Ynez Valley
Price: $190.50                   Sale $167.64
With eight hours of decanting: Floral notes begin to appear, the density becomes more evident and the finish begins to show its seemingly endless flourish. At the beginning of day two, this wine has decided to speak in more depth. As it comes out of its shell, the 2009 reveals itself to be the most powerful and potentially age-worthy Sangre to date, as black fruit, black spice and meaty notes dominate the nose, the palate and the finish. By day three it’s in full glory—a shy and mysterious bruiser of a wine that promises years and years of development and beautiful drinking (as if you can wait three days to drain the bottle). The most “wow” I’ve sensed in a young La Sangre to date.

Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
Sea Scallop Carpaccio with Candied Lime and Lavender Aioli
Pork Belly Tacos with Pinot Noir braised Cabbage and Cherry BBQ Sauce
Lamb and Syrah Stew Served over Creamy Polenta
Dark Chocolate Covered Bacon

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $195 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.  Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any food allergies or aversions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.

Jonata is dedicated to sustainability from the inside out; a principled approach to farming. With its use of polyface farming—as first introduced to America by Michael Pollan in his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”—Jonata integrates and revolves livestock (chickens, turkeys, goats, pigs and sheep) in their farming model, which naturally enhances the soil and health of their land not to mention that of the critters themselves and the Jonata community! We maintain a large communal garden and an orchard that produces our own estate olive oil along with honey from bees raised on the ranch. Water is used judiciously and with precision. Herbicides and pesticides don’t even enter the conversation.

Who is Matt Dees?
There are some people who are educated toward certain positions in life and others who are born to assume them—and Matt Dees is what you’d call a natural winemaker.
Armed with a degree in Soil Science from the University of Vermont and worked multiple vintages at Staglin in Napa, California and Craggy Range in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, Matt has an intrinsic feel for wine, from dirt to glass. Curious, earthy and experimental by nature, Matt’s approach to winemaking is grounded in the vineyard first and foremost: attuned to the vines, the weather, the soil, Matt seems almost to be a part of the vineyard itself. Not being bound by the conventions of the enological world of academia has allowed Matt to come to an untethered philosophy of wine.
Matt is the chief Winemaker at JONATA in Ballard Canyon, and The Hilt Estate winery in Santa Rita Hills. Both estates are within the Kroenke Wine Estates portfolio.