Screaming Eagle sister winery produces first vintage
December 21, 2007
Michael Cervin
Jonata, the new winery from the owners of Screaming Eagle, has just released its first official vintage.
Charles Banks and Stan Kroenke began Jonata Winery, based in Santa Barbara, just before they bought the cult Napa winery in 2006.
The focus of Jonata is Bordeaux blends, which winemaker Matt Dees, formerly of Staglin Family Vineyards in Napa and Craggy Range in New Zealand, said could be seen as a gamble in Santa Barbara County.
'The climate walks a fine line,' he said. 'Spacing, vine density and low yields are crucial.'
In addition to ripe and structured wines, made for longevity, Jonata also produces Sangiovese, Syrah and a German-styled dessert wine. 'Sangiovese is not happy outside of Italy,' Dees said, 'except here in Ballard Canyon,' where the 80 planted acres are in their fourth year.
Yields are typically one to two tons per acre, translating to a miniscule production of 3,500 cases.
Prices are resolutely top end. The least expensive wine, a Sauvignon Blanc, sells for US$75 and the high-end Bordeaux blend, El Desafio de Jonata, is US$125
All fruit is estate with the exception of the Pinot Noir, which comes from the Santa Rita Hills AVA.
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Okay, let's see if I've got this straight: One can BECOME a cult winery (or at least charge cult winery prices) right from the start because one BUYS and owns another, previously-established cult winery? Someone please explain this one to me...
There's a lot of truly first-class Napa Valley Sauv Blanc out there for under $75 and perhaps even more exceedingly good Bordeaux blends for less than $125. It would appear that in this wine region the equivalent of "great growth" status can be had more or less instantly on the basis of some transference or migration of paperwork and funds. But only the RIGHT money talks, i.e., we can guess that the exact same investment and initiative, minus the Screaming Eagle factor, would likely not result in this same effect (...though some have tried this latter route as well).
Once again, an aspect of the world of fine wine has its credibility severely strained. We shouldn't wonder why some folks point and laugh. Frankly, it makes a number of the real fans, the ones that actually like to drink a good bottle from here or there, sad.
Oh - I almost forgot to ask: How are the wines?
Steven Drotos, Beamsville, Ontario, Canada
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Okay, let's see if I've got this straight: One can BECOME a cult winery (or at least charge cult winery prices) right from the start because one BUYS and owns another, previously-established cult winery? Someone please explain this one to me...
