Antica Terra Ceras 2015
Antica Terra Ceras 2015
1 - 2

Antica Terra Ceras 2015

Antica Terra
$320.00

Grape: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2015
Type: Red

Produced during a historically warm and low-yield vintage in the Willamette Valley, this red wine focuses on structural tension and mineral lift. Winemaker Maggie Harrison selects individual barrels that display a linear, mineral-driven backbone to contrast with the more generous Botanica bottling. The grapes are hand-harvested from steep Eola-Amity Hills plots and fermented using indigenous wild yeasts. It ages for over a year in a tailored selection of low-toast French oak barrels to allow the components to integrate naturally.

It displays a bright, translucent ruby color, releasing refined aromas of wild raspberry, blood orange zest, and cold stone. On the palate, the medium-bodied frame is precisely, balancing crunchy red fruit flavors with a firm vein of mineral salinity. Fine-grained, dusty tannins provide a smooth structural grip that coordinates nicely with the fruit. A bracing wave of ocean-driven acidity cuts right through mid-palate volume, keeping it lively.

Maggie Harrison is a first-generation winemaker, having grown up in the Midwest. With an educational background in International Relations and Conflict Resolution, she fell in love with wine while working in restaurants and set out to follow that passion and create wine. She went on to land the position of assistant winemaker to Manfred Krankl at Sine Qua Non, where she remained for eight years. She is currently the co-owner and winemaker for Antica Terra, producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay since 2005, and is also responsible for the Syrah at Lillian Winery in Santa Barbara. Initially, it had been her goal to only produce a singular wine, but during blind tastings for blending, she felt the various components would not necessarily complement one another and would overpower or detract from the other. Rather than force them to homogenize, each of the wines bottled today chases the individual and opposing personalities each possesses. Her wines are impeccably expressive and worth seeking out if you can get your hands on them.

I have always found with these wines that I am never compelled to overly coax the wine in tasting. They are distinctive, singular wines that, when given the time to allow the wine to come to you, make the transcendence to art.

- Audrey Frick (9/17/2023) © 2024 Jeb Dunnuck