2024 Ceritas Trout Gulch Vineyard Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains, California

Trout Gulch sits in a narrow slot canyon due east from the sleepy town of Aptos in the Southern Santa Cruz Mountains. The vineyard’s proximity (less than 3 miles) from the Pacific Ocean makes this our coldest Chardonnay site. Cool ocean air is pushed up into the canyon in the evening and holds long into the morning, allowing the vines to ripen the grapes slowly and steadily. The uplifted oceanic floor soils are well-drained and do not retain heat, pushing the coolness deep into the root zone allowing a trickle of minerality to be absorbed daily. The most crystalline Chardonnay made by Ceritas. • Practicing Organic • 100% Chardonnay • Sourced from Trout Gulch Vineyard (Santa Cruz Mountains AVA) • East facing site • Sand and lifted shallow seabed soils • 35-40-year-old own-rooted vines • Hand-harvested • Crushed on the stem and pressed • Fermented in 7–12-year-old barrels with complete malo • Aged in barrel for 12 months on gross lees • Racked and consolidated into stainless steel for an additional 3-6 months prior to bottling • 12.3% abv