Winemaker Notes
Layered with bing cherry, red delicious apple, cranberry, and orange peel coupled with black tea, bouquet garni, and more earthy notes of wet terracotta and iron. Exquisitely balanced with depth, power, and lively acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir la Encantada Vineyard, made with 15% whole clusters, has wild aromas of iron, pipe tobacco, woodsmoke, autumn leaves, cola and lavender with a core of red berry fruit. The medium-bodied palate balances concentrated fruit with lacy tannins, and it has energetic acidity that highlights pretty floral tones on the finish. It will benefit from 2-3 years in bottle. 118 cases were made.
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Vinous
The 2021 Pinot Noir La Encantada Vineyard is gentle and caressing on the palate. Crushed flowers, sweet red berry fruit, cinnamon, blood orange and dried herbs all grace this super-expressive Pinot. Ryan Deovlet employs just a touch of whole clusters here (15%), which add aromatic presence. Aging is done in a combination of 225 and 500L barrels.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.