02/29/2024
Why would anyone make Pinot Blanc in the Sta. Rita Hills, which is so famous for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay? This seemed like a simple question, but the answer goes to the heart of wine -- that it's about passion, personality and commitment. We were at the Wine & Spirits Top 100 tasting in New York and met Ryan Deovlet of Deovlet Wines, which we'd never tried before. The Pinot Noir was exceptional, fragrant, spicy and true. Then we tried the Pinot Blanc and it was wow -- filled with minerals, the juicy acidity of white peaches and a touch of salt, and yet also so light on its feet that it was a bit haunting. So we asked Deovlet, who is looking for a New York distributor: Why Pinot Blanc?
His response took us to a pioneer of California winemaking, Richard Sanford. In 2008, he asked Sanford if he could buy Pinot Noir from Sanford’s La Encantada Vineyard. Deovlet had been apprenticing in Australia, New Zealand, Central Coast CA (Stephen Ross Wine Cellars and Red Car Wine Co.) and in Argentina with Paul Hobbs’s Vina Cobos. “Richard graciously extended me a contract for 2 tons and I jumped at the opportunity to work with two clones of pinot noir from two different blocks. Next to one block was the pinot blanc and for the next 8 years I'd pop some of those grapes in my mouth and loved them,” he said. Unfortunately, that fruit was under contract. “However, as the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and finally in 2016 I was able to add them to our program. I'm absolutely in love with this wine, and over the years we have made subtle changes to the vinification and aging strategies, all the while with the intent to offer transparency to site and allow this grape to really express the block, the vineyard, and the region as a true wine of the Pacific where the minerality and salinity resonates."
BTW, after this exchange, we checked the winery's site and found that it's $35, a great deal. We bought six. Alma Rosa Winery and Vineyards Deovlet Winess Wine & Spirits Magazine Grape Collective
