Ceritas Chardonnay Charles Heintz 2021
VINTAGE : 2021
COUNTRY : USA
REGION/APPELLATION : California, Sonoma Coast
VARIETALS : Chardonnay
Ceritas’ first vintage was in 2005. Our small collective team, led by founder, John Raytek, can draw a map of the northern California coastal regions, including West Sonoma Coast, Santa Cruz Mountains, Moon Mountain, and Napa. We know this place inside and out – we ride our bikes through its rolling hills, we surf in its frigid waters, we take our kids mushroom foraging in the fog-drenched conifers – and you can see it in our wines. The wines are of this place and us.
We allow each vineyard to be our teacher, with us as the students. This ongoing process of listening to and learning from each site, every vintage, will enable us to discover and share what each site is capable of expressing. We are continually reminded of the simple principle that most of the vital work occurs in the vineyard, and the role of the winemaker is to allow the vineyard to express itself in a balanced, inimitable wine. We are obsessed with the traditions of winemaking and creating. We are fanatically devoted to excellence. Insatiably curious.
Our wines are of time and place sourced from unique sites not shared by many or anyone. We hope to be creators in a legacy that will serve our generation and generations to come.
Tucked away just east of the town of Occidental, Charles Heintz Vineyard is one of the region’s oldest historic vineyard sites. This site begged for wine grapes, specifically Chardonnay, with its classic Goldridge sandy loam soils and the location just above the fog line, offering abundant sunshine with cool ocean breezes. These almost four-decade-old vines are among the oldest Chardonnay vineyards on the Sonoma Coast.
Defying conventional wisdom of the 1980s, Heintz Vineyard has since proven to be superb Chardonnay terroir, its inherent richness balanced by bright acidity and salty minerality. While the fruit ripens slowly due to vine age, patience has its rewards: the quality outstanding and the contrast of this Chardonnay to our other Chardonnays shows what this varietal is capable of. We happily share the organically farmed section with a fellow winery, Littorai.