Ceritas Pinot Noir Cuvee Chloe 2021
VINTAGE : 2021
COUNTRY : USA
REGION/APPELLATION : California, Sonoma Coast
VARIETALS : Pinot Noir
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.
Just east of the town of Occidental is one of the sweet spots for making Pinot Noir. Planted 15 years ago, the shy bearing Swan clone was sourced as a suitcase clone from the famed La Tache vineyard in Vosne-Romanee. The Senna vineyard sits in the coolest part of the Green Valley, often colder than vineyards found at a higher elevation. Due to the lower elevation, the fog sweeps into the site earlier and stays longer than sites closer to the cost.
Shallow sandstone soils coupled with dry farming and meter by meter spacing allow the naturally small vines to produce small, intense, pea-sized berry clusters resulting in a wine with great intensity and finesse at the same time. Ripening in a meter-by-meter vineyard is much slower, allowing depth and concentration without sacrificing aromatic power and high natural acidities.