2020 Ceritas Cabernet Sauvignon Colima
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Tasting notes
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Colima is an exceptional wine, especially for the year. It's a blend from Paratus on Mt. Veeder, Lupina on Moon Mountain and Peter Martin Ray, Marianis and Black Ridge, all in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the latter two planted with cuttings from Peter Martin Ray. John Raytek's original idea was to bottle a number of single vineyard Cabernets and the Colima, as the entry-level Cabernet. Vintage conditions did not allow all of those wines to be made, but the best lots were blended into this wine, with notable success. The 2021 range will include four Cabernets. Dark and imposing in the glass, the 2020 Colima is packed with blackberry, gravel, incense, dried flowers and licorice. In 2020, the Ceritas Cabernet is especially potent. There is some hardness to the contours, but that is a pretty small critique for a year in which conditions tested winemakers to the maximum.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com
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The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Colima, a blend from five different vineyards, pours a deep ruby hue and offers pure, layered, red-fruited aromas of fruit punch and framboise along with pine and pencil shaving. The palate reveals fine tannins, with outstanding refinement of structure, notes of ripe redcurrant, gravelly earth, and forest herbs, and fresh acidity throughout. This vibrant and high-toned, energetic wine captures what Cab from Sonoma can be all about. Helmed by founder John Raytek, Ceritas was established with their first vintage in 2005. Today, 14 wines are produced from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon, all from dry-farmed historical sites poised to channel the style the team wants to create. Each of the sites is farmed organically or biodynamically. Initially focusing solely on what is now the West Sonoma Coast, in 2011 they expanded their reach to the Santa Cruz Mountains, and most recently to Moon Mountain and Napa. In 2015, they moved into a new barrel room in Healdsburg, where they operate today. Having no investors or partners in the project allowed John and his team to experiment and only bottle wines they wished to produce. From a winemaking perspective, they strive for minimal intervention in the cellar. Their oak selections are sourced from two coopers and utilize a light toast from selections with a tight grain. The wines express a pure, focused style that will appeal to those who seek tension and precision. Recent news from the estate includes the acquisition of key Chardonnay holdings in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, which I eagerly anticipate. Additionally, the public can now visit the winery in the heart of Healdsburg for tastings by appointment via their website.
About the producer
Created in 2005 by John Raytek, Ceritas is one of California’s most exciting producers. The project is focused on making single-site wines from Northern California’s coastal regions, largely Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.