Ceritas 'Carex' Chardonnay 2023, Sonoma Coast, California

We’ve looked for Chardonnay of this caliber on the West Sonoma Coast for a long time. There is little world-class Chardonnay to go around from this area. We were approached by one of our favorite winemakers, Andy Smith of DuMol, in 2018 about being the first and only winery to make wine from their estate site located in the coldest part of Green Valley.

The vineyard was planted in 2004, using a unique selection of Old Wente Chardonnay, renowned for producing tiny clusters of zippy Chardonnay. The site is planted meter by meter, requiring the vines to ripen 10-12 clusters, resulting in a depth of flavor and complexity similar to Porter-Bass. Porter-Bass is cultivated using the same selection of Old Wente. Being so closely planted, the fruit sees little in the way of direct sunlight allowing the skins to thicken and provide a tannic backbone which should result in a wine from this vineyard aging a long time. -Winemaker's Notes