Tyler | Pinot Noir "La Rinconada" Sta Rita Hills, 2018 | 6x Bottles

Sitting atop a wind-battered rock pile with virtually no topsoil to the northern edge of the vineyard planting - meaning the vines' roots have to dig very deep, bringing very special minerality and structure - La Rinconada is the deepest, darkest and most powerful wine in the Tyler range. Though this parcel naturally yields very little fruit, because the soil is so "poor" and the site so cool, the quality of the grapes that Justin and his team bring to the cellar is truly eye-popping. Justin chooses to ferment with 30% whole cluster (meaning these are grapes he does not crush; they go into the fermentation tank as nature intended), which adds another level of juicy fruit crunch to this wine. Like all the wines at Tyler, it is then vinified as naturally as possible, using minimal intervention methods and natural yeasts. This is a beast of goodness!

The 2018 Pinot Noir La Rinconada Vineyard offers laser like focus behind a core of red fruit. The Rinconada is one of the most reticent wines in the range today. I would be prepared to cellar it for at lest a few years. Blood orange, mint and crushed rocks all flesh out in a vivid, mineral-driven wine loaded with class. With a bit of air, the layers really start to flesh out.
- Antonio Galloni, Score: 95, Drink date: 2020 - 2026

La Rinconada vineyard is adjacent to the famed Sanford & Benedict site and consistently yields a radically different wine. As with the Chardonnay from this vineyard, the Pinot Noir is a more brawny, bursting and masculine answer to the elegant and effortless Sanford & Benedict. A black-fruited, polished, focused nose...
- Matt Luczy, Decanter.com, Score: 96, September 2020