2021 Hirsch San Andreas Fault Pinot Noir, California

Over 40 years of farming and winemaking on the True Sonoma Coast, David Hirsch’s accumulated wisdom has shown us that the dominant influence on our farming and winemaking is the San Andreas Fault, which lies just half a mile from the Hirsch Vineyard. The wine that captures the complexity and energy of this geologic phenomenon is our San Andreas Fault Estate Pinot Noir, the wine that David calls “the Hirsch Hirsch”.

Hirsch Vineyards is comprised of 72 acres, divided into 67 individual farming blocks, corresponding to the dramatic and sudden changes in soil and aspect created by the Fault. This degree of fragmentation is unmatched even by the famously subdivided vineyards of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. The vineyard has a fearsome diversity of soils, aspects, elevations and microclimates. This complexity defines our farming and winemaking practices: each block was individually developed and is now farmed, harvested and vinified separately.

The San Andreas Fault is Hirsch’s signature pinot noir and is crafted to represent the entirety of this multifaceted vineyard. The 2021 San Andreas has fruit from 34 distinct farming blocks. It is the flagship wine from Hirsch, and the wine that represents the summation of our complex vineyard.

TASTING NOTES: On the nose, the wine shows fresh red cherries with hints of ripe peach, earth, wet stone, anise and mint. With air, crushed fresh strawberries emerge, along with hints of orange oil and dried straw. On the palate, the attack is juicy and concentrated, with notes of dried goji berry, dark plum skin and a hint of baking chocolate. The finish is long and persistent. The tannins here will need a few years to resolve, but the wine has ample fruit to age. There is a density of fruit in the 2021 San Andreas that marks it as one of the finest vintages ever produced of this wine.