2022 Deovlet - Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills Sanford & Benedict (750ml)

Ryan Deovlet founded his namesake winery after an unlikely path from the ball field to the vineyard, trading a shot at professional baseball for a WWOOF placement in Australia and cellar work under Stephen Dooley and at Red Car Winery, where he crossed paths with consultant David Ramey. After a harvest in Argentina alongside Paul Hobbs, he returned home and knocked on the door of Sta. Rita Hills pioneer Richard Sanford, eventually earning access to fruit from Sanford's original vineyard. Deovlet now crafts his wines with a light hand, favoring modest new oak and letting each site speak for itself, working closely with assistant winemaker Grace Kegel.

Sanford & Benedict Vineyard was planted in 1971 within the Santa Rita Hills, a rare east-west running valley that channels cooling Pacific air directly onto the vines. The old, own-rooted Chardonnay vines grow in shale and clay soils threaded with fragmented chert. Fruit is hand-harvested, mostly whole-cluster pressed, and fermented with a restrained oak regimen of roughly fifteen to twenty percent new barrels, preserving freshness and site character over overt oak influence.

The wine offers lifted aromas of white peach, citrus, and orchard fruit alongside subtle floral and saline mineral tones. On the palate it is medium-bodied and precise, with bright acidity carrying flavors of lemon and green apple into a long, structured finish. Serve lightly chilled alongside grilled halibut, roast pork loin, or a soft-ripened cheese.