The Tasting Panel magazine

June 2017

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W hen you watch an amazing sunset from the ridgetop at Hirsch Vineyards in Sonoma County, it's easy to understand why David Hirsch purchased this isolated hillside property with views of the ocean in 1978. But to appreciate what inspired a man with no previous farm- ing experience to plant the first premium Pinot Noir vines on the windy Sonoma Coast is an even more enlightening story. Beyond Hirsch's passion for the wines of Burgundy, it's a journey that started a couple million years ago when the shifting of the tectonic plates beneath the ocean and a series of cataclysmic shakes from the nearby San Andreas faultline helped create a complex jigsaw puzzle of rocky, sandy and clay-based soils that are now home to 68 acres of pristine Pinot Noir vines at the estate. Since planting the original Pommard and Waädenswil clones on their own roots in 1980, the unique tapestry of 60 separate blocks now includes Dijon clones 114 and 777 and the classic California selections of Mount Eden, Swan and Calera, which are combined with specific rootstocks to match the dynamic mix of soil types and the microclimates that run along the ridge. As interest in Pinot Noir grew in the 1990s, the special traits of the vineyard caught the interest of star winemakers such as Ted Lemon of Littorai, Burt Williams of Williams Selyem, Steve Kistler of Kistler Vineyards, Ehren Jordan of Failla and Adam Lee of Siduri—all of whom have gone on to make magnificent vineyard-designated wines with fruit from the estate. For those reasons, it wasn't until 2002 that the family began using some of the premium fruit to make its yearly release of the aptly named San Andreas Fault. To celebrate the 15-year anniversary of the first vintage, David's daughter, Jasmine, who took over the winery as general manager in 2015, and winemaker Anthony Filiberti shared offerings of the exceptional 2011– 2014 terroir-driven wines with sommeliers, retailers and wine collectors who attended the special World of Pinot Noir seminar at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara County in March. In general, this annual release is made with fruit from up to 35 separate blocks. And over the past decade, the team has started to pick the grapes earlier to preserve the complex flavors, natural acidity and other nuances that express the true character of the vintage and the vineyard as a whole. "In reality, the point of granulating the blocks and breaking them apart is not based on what's better," explains Filiberti. "Instead, it's more about what makes each one so distinctive and different." Jasmine concurs. "We're looking to make wines with a lot of personality and persistent flavors that are the signatures of the site of the vineyard. For these reasons, our goal is to let the fruit speak for itself by making a wine that is very focused and refined, but not overly polished." 32  /  the tasting panel  /  june 2017 TASTINGS by Christopher Sawyer / photos by Tenley Fohl Photography Pinot Noir and the Extreme Sonoma Coast HIRSCH VINEYARDS SHOWS OFF ITS SAN ANDREAS FAULT AT THE WORLD OF PINOT NOIR To celebrate the 15-year anniversary of the first vintage, Hirsch Vineyards shared offerings of the exceptional 2011–2014 terroir-driven San Andreas Fault with sommeliers, retailers and wine collectors who attended the special World of Pinot Noir seminar at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara County in March.

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