Hirsch Vineyards - Pinot Noir 'San Andreas Fault' 2016 (1.5L)

Price: $199.99

Producer	Hirsch Vineyards
Country	United States
Region	California
Varietal	Pinot Noir
Vintage	2016
Sku	205244
Size	1.5L

Hirsch Vineyards Description

Earthquake terroir: Half a mile to the west and ten miles underground runs the San Andreas Fault, where the Pacific and North American plates collide, pushing and pulling the land toward the creeks and sea. This geologic upheaval has gifted us a haphazard arrangement of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary soils, as well as dramatic and highly changeable topography. In response, we’ve parcelled our 72 acre vineyard into 67 individual farming blocks, a degree of fragmentation unmatched even by the famously subdivided vineyards of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. This complexity defines our farming and winemaking practices.

From our first planting in 1980, a philosophy of viticulture has been slowly evolving that is specific to Hirsch Vineyards. Just as our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines, influenced by the local environmental conditions, have grown and adapted to the site, we have learned to work out an appropriate cultural approach by trial and error in the field. Our vineyard manager of more than thirty years, Everardo Robledo, has been an integral part of this process. He is the leader of our farming team, all of whom live on the ranch, just as David, Marie, and Jasmine do. Living here allows us all to internalize the rhythms of nature, and foresee and respond to weather events in real time.

The San Andreas Fault Estate Pinot Noir is the flagship wine from Hirsch, and the wine that represents the summation of our complex vineyard. David Hirsch says if you drink only one of our wines this should be it.

100% estate, 100% Hirsch. 100% Pinot Noir

Vinous: 93 Points

Medium ruby colored, the 2016 Pinot Noir San Andreas Fault is youthfully shy on the nose, giving up strawberry and raspberry preserves, bergamot, amaro, rose petals, charcuterie and pipe tobacco. The light to medium-bodied palate offers nuanced red fruits with firm, grainy tannins, finishing on a bitters note.