Asking $15,900,000 (we did renovations)

The tony enclave of Rancho Santa Fe is well established as one of San Diego’s priciest neighborhoods. Homes in the area sold for a median $2,825,000 last March, well above the $500,000 mark for the county as a whole.

The 10,700-square-foot, 6.3-acre estate at 18127 Via Roswitha dwarfs even that lofty price tag.

Per the listing agent, the home shines “like a rare jewel” in its private setting “virtually hidden at the end of a private drive in the idyllic year-round microclimate of Rancho Santa Fe.”

To reach the mansion, first enter a private gate and drive past a horse pasture, vineyard, and “some of the most exotic vegetation imaginable.”

The home was originally built in 1990, but after extensive upgrades and additions the listing now claims the construction date as 2014. Regardless, the construction was “classically and elegantly designed” to evoke an earlier time, featuring “17th century fireplaces, reclaimed timbers, [and] large-format marble and wide-plank French oak floors.”

Other interior features include “antiqued Habersham custom cabinets and handmade Tabarka tile,” vaulted ceilings with exposed beams, a home gym stocked with professional-quality equipment, and a kitchen (one of two in the home) with dual islands and a wall of windows that opens onto a covered patio, creating a seamless indoor/outdoor living space. Another wall in the master bath retracts to a private courtyard and fountain view from the elevated tub.

Outside, two floors of patio space overlook the lagoon-style pool and spa with waterfall and hidden grotto, tropical landscaping, and feature “panoramic views stretching all the way to the ocean,” several miles distant.

The property also features a five-car garage, horse corrals, and barn with stables for six horses with, according to a previous listing, “kitchen, tack room, feed room, cross ties, vacuum system, automatic fly spray system, hot water wash area, rubber pavers, concrete stalls with mats and drainage, oversized foaling stalls with walkouts, grass turnouts, covered paddocks with shelters, several storage areas and parking for two oversized horse trailers.”

Tax rolls indicate the current owners of the home as James and Melanie Burkhart. Mr. Burkhart is listed as a principal of the Silver B Ranch, a limited liability company formed in California but based out of Austin, Texas. An online search yielded limited results, but an inquiry from OpenSecrets.org shows Burkhart, listed as retired, as a $50,000 contributor to Mitt Romney’s Victory PAC in 2012.

The Via Roswitha estate was last sold in 2011 for $4.4 million, noted as a “drastic price reduction” from an asking price topping $7.3 million due to the fact the prior owner had already purchased another home. This was before the recent renovations — which added over 1000 square feet of living space — had been completed.

Re-listed for the first time since its last sale in mid-May, the home now commands an asking price of $15,900,000.