Ceritas Pinot Noir Cuvee Annabelle 2022

Ceritas is the work of husband-and-wife team John and Phoebe Raytek, whose small, mailing-list-only production has become one of the most sought-after names on the West Sonoma Coast — the wines routinely sell out on release, with only a handful of lucky retailers securing small allocations. Cuvée Annabelle is named for one of the couple's twin daughters, and comes from Kings Ridge Vineyard, a site owned by their friends at Red Car, perched high in the rugged, mountainous reaches of the Fort Ross-Seaview sub-appellation. The terrain here is so steep that only the ridgetops can be planted, placing the vines in cool, direct sunshine at elevation while an encircling stand of old-growth redwood shelters the site from the coastal winds. Viticulturist Greg Adams chose extremely high-density planting — around 2,400 vines per acre — forcing small vines to drive their roots deep into hard sandstone soil laced with quartz, yielding small, tightly packed clusters. In the cellar the fruit is hand-harvested and fermented entirely on native yeasts, with a carefully judged portion of whole clusters lending structural tension and savoury stem spice to the wine's naturally translucent, weightless texture.

The result is Pinot Noir of real clarity and restraint: a spicy, gravelly nose gives way to a palate of cranberry and cherry, framed by bright, natural acidity and a distinct sense of purity that's become the Ceritas signature. Medium-to-light in weight, with cinnamon and dried herb notes woven through the fruit, it's an elegant, quietly powerful wine built more in the mould of fine Burgundy than typical California Pinot. Pour it with roast salmon, duck, or a simple herb-crusted chicken — this is coastal California Pinot Noir at its most precise and site-driven, from a producer whose tiny output makes every bottle a genuine find.