The Paring Red 2015 | Rarely Obtained “Must-Get” Red
The Paring Red 2015 presents a deep ruby-purple. Charming aromas of blackberry pie, dried cherry, clove, mulling spices, toast, cedar, and dried violets suggest a wine as complex as it is approachable. The palate is weighty and supple, loaded with powdery fine tannins. Flavors of black fruit, olive tapenade, and toast linger through a finish laden with warming spices. Drink now – 2026.
92WE | Candied blackberry aromas meet with cola spice, licorice and wet earth on the nose of this red blend from the same team behind the Jonata and The Hilt wineries. There is a strong structure to the full-bodied palate, where black fruit plays with cocoa and pepper spices.
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91JD | The Paring Red 2015is the Bordeaux blend of the estate and is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Merlot and Petit Verdot, all from declassified Jonata lots. Its deep, inky purple color is followed by a rich, powerful wine that’s loaded with notions of blackcurrants, unsmoked tobacco, graphite, and crushed rocks. With background oak, full-body, ripe yet present tannins, and a great finish, it’s going to keep for at least 7-8 years.
The Paring – Heritage & Vineyards
Matt Dees’ heavy-hitting “The Paring” reds are some of our best discoveries. And his The Paring Red 2014 from Santa Barbara is conceivably the finest under-$25 Bordeaux blend on the coast. Why? The Paring is the second wine from two star-studded estates: First, there’s JONATA in Ballard Canyon — the sister winery of Screaming Eagle.
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Then, there’s HILT Estate in the prized Santa Rita Hills AVA. The AVA leverages iconic Bentrock and Radian Vineyards to produce some of the area’s most exciting and highest-scoring wines. The winemaker behind both estates is Dees, who learned to make wine from 100-point winemaker Andy Erickson (formerly of Screaming Eagle).
HILT and JONATA | The Winemaking Team
The Paring wines, produced by Matt Dees and the winemaking team at JONATA, always elicit a bevy of praise. Of course, including this comment from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “What they are accomplishing with Bordeaux varietals is mind-boggling.”
A decade later, Dees and the team at JONATA have achieved greatness in more ways than one. The Paring Red 2014 offers all this star-studded team is capable of — and then some.
