2020 Ceritas, Peter Martin Ray Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains 6x75cl

Ceritas: A California Coast Visionary

Based in Sonoma County, Ceritas Wines is one of the most influential, terroir-driven projects operating along the extreme, cool-climate margins of California. Founded in 2005 by John Raytek and his wife Phoebe Bass, the estate was born from a shared conviction that wine should be a transparent mirror of the earth and the specific vintage, rather than a reflection of winemaking manipulation. Instead of pursuing the rich, highly extracted style that dominated California for decades, John and Phoebe sought out old, forgotten parcels and meticulously farmed vineyards in the wind-swept, fog-shrouded corridors of the Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, and Santa Cruz Mountains. Today, Ceritas enjoys a dedicated international cult following among collectors, sommeliers, and purists who value high-tension, finessed, and elegant expressions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

A Style of Laser Tension, Electricity, and Minimal Intervention

The winemaking philosophy at Ceritas Wines is defined by a fierce commitment to early picking, low alcohol, and an absolute minimum of cellar intervention, yielding wines of crystalline purity and soaring vertical acidity. John Raytek works in lockstep with his grower partners, enforcing strict organic or biodynamic farming practices and dictating picking dates based purely on natural acidity and phenolic balance rather than high sugar levels. In the cellar, the Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are fermented entirely with native yeasts. The Chardonnays undergo a gentle press directly into older, neutral French oak barrels with no new oak footprint, deliberately blocking malolactic fermentation when necessary to preserve a biting, saline freshness. The Pinot Noirs are vinified with varying percentages of whole clusters to impart structural tension, savoury stem spice, and a translucent, weightless mid-palate density.

Exquisite Single-Vineyard Clarity From Ceritas

The reputation of Ceritas Wines is anchored by an elite portfolio of single-vineyard bottlings that read like a map of California’s finest coastal terroirs. The domain produces micro-quantities of wine from historic, low-yielding sites such as Trout Gulch in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Porter-Bass in the Russian River Valley, and the remote, marine-influenced Hellenthal and Occidental vineyards on the extreme Sonoma Coast.

By maintaining microscopic production levels and refusing to blend parcels together, the estate ensures that the distinct geological footprint of each site, whether fractured Franciscan shale or ancient marine sandstone, is preserved with absolute clarity. Learn more here