2013 Pinot Noir Costalina

There is a lot to look forward to in this set of new and upcoming releases from Ceritas. John Raytek and Phoebe Bass draw from some of the top sites in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Anderson Valley and the Sonoma Coast to craft brilliant Chardonnays and Pinots built on energy. Stylistically, the Ceritas wines are incredibly transparent, which makes them great choices for readers who want to explore and understand the attributes of some of these vineyard sites. This year, I was especially drawn to the Pinot Noirs, which are generally more complete wines. Raytek and Bass like to pick on the earlier side, which is especially evident in the Chardonnays, where that style appears at times forced upon the vineyards, while in Pinot Noir the wines often come across as more natural. That is a very small critique at this level, though, as the wines are delicious across the board.