"Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 94 Points
Sonoma’s Sensational 2021s
The 2021 Chardonnay Zephyr is a deep, potent wine with a rich mid-palate and tons of sheer richness. Dried citrus, herbs, crushed rocks and anise lend nuance to this distinctly broad-shouldered, phenolic Chardonnay. The Zephyr is first and foremost a wine of texture, as fruit is pushed to the background, typical of the West Sonoma Coast. Then again, the Zephyr is sourced from the Red Car estate in Freestone. Drinking Window 2024 - 2031"
The mission at Ceritas is to craft single vineyard expressions of place through Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The sources for their fruit along the Sonoma Coast and westernmost Russian River Valley were carefully chosen for their winegrowing merits and also for their singularity. Each allows them the opportunity to craft balanced and distinct wines which will stand out on the dinner table, thier wines are reflective of the growing seasons and soils from which they came. In the vineyard sustainable farming practices are followed, dictated by observation and empiricism rather than by prescriptive farming.
All of their vineyard sites are either farmed bio-dynamically or are in the initial stages of being converted to biodynamic farming methods. They believe that biodynamic farming methods, and focused and site-specific attention, give the vines the greatest opportunity to experience each growing season, to respond accordingly, and ultimately to yield grapes with the unmistakable flavours and smells of their time and place.
John Raytek - "Ceritas’ viticulturalist, Greg Adams, was approached by a quality-focused family 15 years ago to plant a site in one of the most dramatic sites. We’ve longed to work with this site, and in 2018 the owners from Red Car Winery approached us with the idea to work with specific blocks of grapes from this site. We jumped at the opportunity.
Perched above the Freestone Valley sits the Zephyr vineyard smack in the bullseye of the coastal influences flowing between the Bodega Headlands and the Sebastopol Hills. Cold air sweeps across the low-lying coastal hills bringing in moisture-laden fog and scents of sea spray. The meager sandstone soils with little to no topsoil restrict the growth of the vines here, bringing near-perfect balance to the small crop they need to ripen. Zephyr is the last Chardonnay site that we harvest in the West Sonoma Coast, a full two weeks after Porter-Bass, Charles Heintz, and Carex. This is an exotic version of Chardonnay, unlike any other wine. Savory and salty with notes of green tea and star jasmine."
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com
John Raytek presented a stunning set of 2021s. The Pinots are brilliant across the board. Whole cluster inclusion is quite high, 60-80% on average, but the stem influence is so subtle and is mostly felt in the wine's salinity and energy rather than flavor profile, a tell-tale sign of a superior year. The 2021s spent 12 months in barrel and then a few months in tank. Chardonnay also stars in 2021. Like so many wines in this vintage, the Chardonnays need a ton of air to show at their best. Élevage for the Chardonnays is about 10-11 months in barrel and then 5-6 months in tank, depending on the year, prior to bottling. One of the recent changes here has been a move towards thicker-staved 300-liter barrels for the Chardonnays, which help preserve heat in fermentation and then reduce contact with oxygen during aging. As a complement to the more neutral wood imprint in general, new oak usage is up a touch. Raytek has made his name with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but Cabernet Sauvignon will soon play a bigger role in this expanding range. Readers will want to take a close look at the 2020 Colima Cabernet Sauvignon for a hint of what is coming down the road. This is an exciting set of wines from top to bottom.
