Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 La Fuerza de Jonata has a fairly herbal nose with underlying notions of red currants, menthol, black pepper and forest floor. The light to medium-bodied palate is appealing in its restraint, although verges on being skeletal, with astringent tannins and a touch of bitterness on the finish.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2014 La Fuerza de Jonata (made from 100% Petit Verdot) gives up notions of cassis and mulberries with an undercurrent of earth, bay leaves and black pepper. The light to medium-bodied palate is a bit firm and chewy, and while it has appealing freshness, it is just a little hollow and short.

Another wine that hasn't been made since 2008, the 2012 La Fuerza de Jonata is 100% Petit Verdot that saw aging in 75% new French oak. Slightly high-toned aromatically, with lots of violet-tinged plums, smoked earth, blackberry and licorice characteristics, this beauty hits the palate with full-boded richness, an elegant, silky texture and plenty of ripeness and length. Like the other 2012s, it shows the more approachable nature of the vintage, yet I'm sure it will still be going strong at age 20.

The 2008 Fuerza is 94% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot. Layers of smoke, espresso, licorice, cassis and ash add complexity to a core of sweet, intense dark fruit. The Fuerza is a nicely balanced wine, but doesn’t quite have the tannic structure typical of Petit Verdot. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2018. General Manager Armand de Maigret, Assistant Winemaker Drew Pickering and Vineyard Manager Ruben Solorzano showed me a wide range of wines at Jonata. The estate is currently owned by investor Stan Kroenke. Matt Dees is Winemaker, while Michel Rolland is the consulting oenologist. This large, sprawling estate in Ballard Canyon spans 600+ acres, 82 of which are under vine. Vintage 2008 was a colder year overall, with significant amounts of shatter and heat spikes towards the end of the growing season. The 2009s show more overt, fruit forward personalities. Both vintages are quite beautiful. I also tasted a number of older wines. With the exception of the Sangre, the wines appear to be aging at a fairly fast pace. Of course, drinking windows remain a highly personal aspect of wine appreciation, but readers who own the estate’s older vintages should be checking in on the wines periodically to chart their development. I don’t see too much upside potential from cellaring those wines, the 2005s and 2006s in particular, further. Accordingly I have kept drinking windows for the 2008s and 2009s relatively short. I will be thrilled if the wines end up exceeding my expectations, but at this stage only the Sangre appears to be a wine with medium and long-term aging potential. Tel. (805) 564-8581; www.jonata.com