Product Information:
From legendary producer Screaming Eagle. The 2017 Jonata Fenix Bordeaux Blend, comprised of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. It's heady and perfumed with an intoxicating nose pulling you in with notes of ripe black fruit, almond brioche and violets. Its generous and luxurious fruit saturates the palate. A wine of breadth and power that also boasts a truly silky texture. Powerful but stays buoyant and lively through the finish.
The final blend is 40% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot. The oak regime is typically 60% new French oak, 40% twice used French oak (225L).
Maker:
Owned by the iconic Screaming Eagle, JONATA wines are on the vanguard of an emerging quality movement in California winegrowing. The Ballard Canyon AVA is located within the greater Santa Ynez Valley appellation. As California’s Central Coast most notable emerging locations, JONATA’s sandy site and its team’s winegrowing know-how have produced results that are widely recognised as the best ever seen from this region.
Dedicated to expressing a range of red—and a handful of white—wines from its estate in the Central Coast of California’s Ballard Canyon appellation within Santa Ynez Valley, Jonata is one of a new breed of producers throughout the world who are thriving with a non-traditional amalgam of varieties and blends. With a commitment in particular to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, and informed by cutting edge viticulture, winemaking and a polyface approach to their estate, the Jonata wines are on the vanguard of an emerging quality movement in California winegrowing.
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.
Vineyard:
2017 had a went winter that broke the drought, giving the soils a good drink. Yet it was certainly a year with some of the smallest yields and earliest harvest dates for Jonata (with a few of the first picks coming in mid-August). There were great growing conditions in June and July before a suddenly cool August. Some early harvest prior to the warm periods graced blends with freshness and structural integrity. Some select blocks were picked after the heat had passed, fleshing out the wines with density and power. The combination of these characteristics resulted in wines of purity, balance and complexity.
Nose - Perfumed, New Leather, Blackberry Preserve
Heady and perfumed with an intoxicating nose that immediately pulls you in with notes of ripe black fruit, almond brioche and violets.
Palate - Generous Fleshy Fruit, Espresso Notes, Silky Texture
Ripe, fleshy, full-bodied, and loaded with fruit, it still shows the vintage’s more elegant, classic style.
Finish - Plum, Chocolate, Ground Herbs
A wine of breadth and power that also boasts a truly silky texture. Stays buoyant and lively through the finish.
The 2017 Fenix, Jonata's red Bordeaux blend, is lush and generous, with terrific fruit intensity and plenty of immediate appeal. Sweet dark cherry, plum, chocolate, new leather, spice and liquorice wrap around the palate. Effortless and refined, the 2017 is just superb. Best of all, it will drink well with minimal cellaring. - Antonio Galloni, 95 Points.
Checking in as a final blend of 40% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 8% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Fenix reveals a saturated purple colour as well as sexy notes of black cherries, currants, ground herbs, chocolate, and earth. Ripe, fleshy, full-bodied, and loaded with fruit, it still shows the vintage’s more elegant, classic style. It's a beautiful, sexy wine that does everything right. - Jeb Dunnuck, 95 Points.
The Finer Details
Style - Red Wine
Varietal - 40% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot.
Country - United States
Region - Ballad Canyon, Santa Ynez, California
Vintage - 2017
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 14.1%
