2023 Mt Pajaro Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
The 2023 Pinot Noir Mindego Ridge, from a site in the Santa Cruz Mountains, is packed with dark red-toned fruit, chalk, mint, dried herbs and pomegranate. The 2023 is a good wine, but the personality of this site does not strike me as good for Ceritas. There's something in the balance here that is not totally convincing.
Critic scores
Average Score
Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com
Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com
More reviews and scores
Coming from Santa Crus Mountains, the 2023 Pinot Noir Mindego Ridge is a bright transparent red color and is vibrant, spicy, and true to this vintage. It smells like Braulio, with crazy cool aromatics of Amaro fresh herbs, orange peel, fresh spices, compact red berries, and cranberries. The palate is fantastically fresh and pure, floating on the palate with refined, well-defined tannins and an even feel with a floating finish. It’s incredibly complex and haunting. Drink this over the coming 15 or more years.
A ruby red color, the 2023 Pinot Noir Mount Pajaro is a barrel sample with aromas of ripe raspberry fruit. It fills the palate and has a saturating mouthfeel, with ripe tannins and a long, fruity and floral finish. It has all the components to be a fantastically detailed and elegant Pinot Noir, and I look forward to revisiting this over the next couple of years when it’s in bottle. Drink after 2025.
Coming from Santa Crus Mountains, the 2023 Pinot Noir Mindego Ridge is a bright transparent red color and is vibrant, spicy, and true to this vintage. It smells like Braulio, with crazy cool aromatics of Amaro fresh herbs, orange peel, fresh spices, compact red berries, and cranberries. The palate is fantastically fresh and pure, floating on the palate with refined, well-defined tannins and an even feel with a floating finish. It’s incredibly complex and haunting. Drink this over the coming 15 or more years. The team from Ceritas are continuing to push the bar steadily higher, never resting on their laurels. The 2023 range from them is not to be missed.
About the producer
Created in 2005 by John Raytek, Ceritas is one of California’s most exciting producers. The project is focused on making single-site wines from Northern California’s coastal regions, largely Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.