Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vyd, Sta. Rita Hills, 2020

A deeper fruit set here, richer and more earth bound with blue fruits and a touch of sweet oak. There’s still restraint, just more depth and richness. Wild plummy fruit, fine spice and more of a gripping tactile texture. This vineyard, planted by Richard Sandford in 2000, sits to the west of Sandford and Benedict, on a small hill, and is thus closer to the Ocean (7 miles) and also more exposed to the winds than S&B. The result is a generally smaller yield, with grapes that tend to have slightly thicker skins resulting in wines of more structure, slightly darker fruit flavours and more depth than the other wines in the range. Here up to 20% whole cluster is employed, depending on the vintage. This was the first vineyard Ryan worked with and it has been a constant throughout the life of Deovlet Wines.