Ceritas
___Pronounced (SARA-toss)_
__A Spanish word that roughly translates to “mineral expression of the soil”
OK, so before you buy from me, I encourage you to please sign up for the Ceritas mailing list over at their website. These are amazing people and amazing wines. However, if you want to buy now outside of the seasonal window of 2x year, now is the time to do so with me.
Also, now that I am finally digging out of the hole from my trip to Piemonte in northern Italy, we are back on track making offers this week on some really exciting wines, many that will be perfect for your Thanksgiving table that is just a few short weeks away. The below offer is perfect for Thanksgiving and we are cutting prices on 6 (10%) and 12 (15%) bottles. The pricing at bottle 1 is already at or near the lowest in the USA.
2016 Vintage Offer
My Favorite Producer of Authentic & Genuine Burgundy Inspired California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
Transcendent California Pinot Noir & Chardonnay
Ceritas make some the best, most age-worthy and authentic Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in California today. Yes, there are many great producers of Pinot and Chardonnay in California, but for my money and my palate, I find it hard to think of anyone that crafts such an authentic and complex expression of soil and grape from California these days than the husband and wife team John and Phoebe Raytek. The vineyard sites they work with cover about 28 acres of vines in Anderson Valley, the far Sonoma Coast and the Santa Cruz Mountains.
PINOT NOIR
****(Mix and match 6 bottles for 10% off and 12+ for 15% off your order)
2016 Hellenthal, “Old Shop Block” Pinot Noir $75
96 pts Galloni - Vinous
One of the stars in this range, the 2016 Pinot Noir Hellenthal Vineyard Old Block Shop is simply magnificent. A rush of dark red/purplish fruit makes a strong opening statement. Rich, pliant and enveloping, the 2016 captivates all the senses with its statuesque beauty. Power and finesse are seldom this well balanced in wine. At this stage, the 2016 stands out for its remarkable textural depth and nearly seamless feel.
2016 Elliott Vineyard, Sonoma Coast $65
95+ pts Galloni - Vinous
The 2016 Pinot Noir Elliot Vineyard is distinguished in this range by its vertical sense of structure. Translucent, deep and super-expressive, the Elliott is wonderfully resonant and yet also somehow quite delicate. The 2016 is perhaps a bit less exuberant than other vintages have been, but it is just as compelling. Although a bit reticent today, the 2016 should blossom nicely with more time in bottle. My sense is that the Elliott still has much to say.
2016 Costalina Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast $50
89 pts Galloni - Vinous
The 2016 Pinot Noir Costalina is succulent and inviting, with a bit more darkness and depth than it typically shows. Sage, dried herb, leather, licorice and tobacco add layers of aromatic nuance to play off the pliant, succulent fruit. As always, the Costalina is a terrific introduction to the Ceritas wines. In this vintage, the Costalina has a bit more immediacy and generosity than it often does.
****CHARDONNAY
2016 Trout Gulch Chardonnay, Santz Cruz Mountains $65
94 pts Galloni - Vinous
The 2016 Pinot Noir Trout Gulch is beautiful. In this vintage, the Trout Gulch is perhaps a bit less angular than it can be, which is not necessarily a bad thing. There is a striking level of purity in the red berry, chalk, mint and white pepper overtones. Lifted and precise, the 2016 has much to offer.
2016 Charles Heintz Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast $70
93 pts Galloni - Vinous
Usually one of the more overt wines in the range, the 2016 Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard gives the impression that it needs more time in bottle to be at its most expressive. As always, the Heintz is distinguished by its layered, creamy palate feel. The aromatics and fruit still need to emerge, but all the elements are nicely woven together. Even so, I expect the 2016 will always be a relatively understated Heintz Chardonnay.
2016 Peter Martin Ray Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains $70
93 pts Galloni - Vinous
The 2016 Chardonnay Peter Martin Ray Vineyard is wonderfully nuanced from start to finish. Apricot, smoke, slate, ash, graphite and orange blossom give the wine a decidedly exotic feel. A whole range of earthy, mineral mountain notes develop in the glass. The 2016 is at once texturally rich and also quite vivid, an appealing combination to say the least. This is a terrific debut vintage for this Chardonnay from the Santa Cruz Mountains site that also informs the Ceritas’ Cabernet Sauvignon.
2016 Marena Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast $50
89 pts Galloni - Vinous
The 2016 Chardonnay Marena is a terrific introduction to the Ceritas wines. Gracious and light on its feet, the 2016 displays lovely energy in citrus, white flower and chalky flavors. I very much like the translucence and delicacy of the Marena. The persistent, clean finish makes it nearly impossible to resist a second taste. This is the sort of wine that is opened and finished in short order.
(Mix and match 6 for 10% off and 12+ for 15% off your order)
ORDER here: Ceritas - My Favorite California Pinot Noir & Chardonnay - Transcendent
***Ceritas
Simplicity. A word, a concept, a notion bandied about with great appeal and aspiration, but often without the knowledge of how to achieve it. For our small team at Ceritas led by the husband and wife duo of John and Phoebe Raytek, simplicity means allowing our vineyards to be the teachers, with us as the students. It means the ongoing process of listening to and learning from each site, every vintage, to discover and share what that site is capable of expressing. It means honoring our commitment with our grower partners to farm every vineyard sustainably and organically.
Through observation, vintage after vintage, we are continually reminded of the simple principal that most of the important work occurs in the vineyard, and the role of the winemaker is to allow the vineyard to express itself in a balanced, inimitable wine.
John Raytek / Winemaker and Co-owner
Cuisine and wine are common bedfellows. So describes the experience of John Raytek, whose intense interest in the culinary world led to his passionate pursuit of winemaking. A self-described old world vigneron, John cultivates wines in the vineyard first, implementing the traditional winemaking approach of considering the grapes’ experience on the vines to guide their treatment in the winery. Few details go unnoticed in John’s world, particularly in the vineyard and cellar, enabling John to produce wines that showcase the terroir rather than production techniques. Ceritas Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon are living testament to the time and place from which they derive. By observing, learning, adapting and applying the teachings of the vineyards, John’s traditional winemaking techniques continuously reinforce his belief that often, it is more important to know what not to do, than what to do.
Phoebe Raytek / Farmer and Co-owner
A childhood firmly rooted in the family vineyards of Porter-Bass blessed Phoebe with an innate sense of the plant world, as well as wine. The daughter of Sue and Dirck Bass, Phoebe amassed a wealth of knowledge about plants, gardening and wine growing, which led her to pursue a degree in Environmental Sciences. Her adept understanding of the relationship of plants to the soils and greater environment has positioned her well to direct the farming operations for each Ceritas vineyard. Indisputably, Phoebe is the boots on the ground in the vineyards, the knitter of warm sweaters for cold harvest mornings, and the grower of outlandishly delicious produce throughout the year.
_ from the Ceritas website_*
If you have paid this much attention you win as you get to take a peak at this great video of John talking about Ceritas!
