Ceritas Chardonnay Trout Gulch 2020

VINTAGE : 2020

COUNTRY : USA

REGION/APPELLATION : California, Santa Cruz Mountains 

VARIETALS : Chardonnay

VINEYARD : Trout Gulch

Our southernmost vineyard, Trout Gulch, sits a mere 3.5 miles from the ocean. The Vineyard sits at 750 feet above the hamlet of Aptos in the southern Santa Cruz Mountains. The vineyard was planted in 1980 to Wente Chardonnay and Mt Eden Pinot Noir and is carefully tended to by winemaker/vigneron Richard Alfaro. Uplifted oceanic sandy soils create a unique drainage sending the vines deep into marine-derived sub-soils. Tucked into a cool coastal redwood drainage allows temperatures here to stay cooler than expected – summertime high’s rarely exceeding 80F. The wines also capture a marine flavor unlike any of our other wines.

This winery is fast becoming one of our favorites for Chardonnay, and Santa Cruz is definitely one of our favorite regions for Chardonnay.  Delicious.  Complex.  This is obviously young but seems like it should be a twenty year wine.  It drinks great on its own but will work well with sea foods and lighter fowl dishes.  

"Very focused nose hints of sea spray, salt, and star jasmine. Bursting flavors of yuzu lemon and flint are framed by energetic acidity. The wine unfurls slowly with refined citrus fruit laced with spice and mint. Very harmonious with a palpable sense of energy towards the persistent finish. Pure and crystalline with nothing but class." John Raytek

"Coming from the pure shale soils of a site perched 1800 feet above the fog line, the 2020 Chardonnay Peter Martin Ray is more savory and compact, with white mushroom, peach skin, and a slate-like minerality. The palate is rounder and has a more glycerin feel relative to the rest, with pineapple, orange blossom, and beeswax. Drink over the next 10 or more years." Jeb Dunnuck 94 points