Ceritas Porter-Bass Vineyards Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, USA 2021
Being objective about this site is impossible for us: Phoebe grew up here after her parents moved from the east coast in 1980 expressly to farm this land. Why a family would uproot and relocate to a farm near the quiet town of Forestville is a story in itself. Suffice it to say that the lure of restoring an abandoned property on rolling hills, surrounded by redwood forest, a mere eight miles inland from the Pacific Ocean was too great to resist. And so, the restoration began in 1980.
Perched like a saddle between ridgelines in Pocket Canyon, the site benefits from cooling morning and afternoon fog, which rolls in reliably from the ocean. Shale and fractured sandstone soils are well suited to the Chardonnay planted in 1980 to the Old Wente Clone, followed in 2001 by Pinot Noir plantings of Swan and Calera clones. The vineyard is farmed biodynamically, with our blocks located on the north-facing side, allowing for an extended growing season.
"Sadly, this is going to be the last vintage for this bottling for Ceritas. With a youthful straw appearance, the 2021 Chardonnay Porter-Bass is fresh and ripe with orchard fruit, peach, wet stone, and more broad aromas. Taking on more depth and pithy citrus texture, on the palate it has a rounded feel and is less vertical than the rest of these whites. Offering great savory appeal to balance with its fruit, it will continue to dink well over the next 15 years." Jeb Dunnuck 97