Ceritas Pinot Noir Cuvee Chloe 2020

Cuvée Chloe is the most perfumed and immediate Pinot Noir in the Ceritas range, and a good entry point to the winery. John Raytek and Phoebe Bass founded Ceritas in 2005, and it has become a cult favourite for minimal-intervention, Burgundy-minded wines. Chloe is a blend from the DuMOL estate vineyards on the Sonoma Coast, with different clones fermented separately and then combined. These include the Swan clone, originally sourced from Vosne-Romanée, as well as the 943 and Calera clones. The fruit is fermented with native yeasts, with a good share of whole clusters, and aged in a mix of new and neutral French oak.

The result is a pretty, lifted Pinot with a silky texture and real depth. Fresh violets, wild raspberry, strawberry and rose petal lead, with mossy herbs, wet stone, cranberry and blood orange, and with a touch of sage and mint in some years. The palate is medium-bodied and refined, with polished tannins, a refreshing feel and a long finish.