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| Hirsch |
Sonoma Coast |
Sonoma |
pomegranate, pink peppercorn, black tea, forest floor
spring strawberry, blood orange, dried porcini mushroom
jerked salmon, moroccan lamb tagine, epoisse burger
VINIFICATION
6.17 tons were hand harvested and sorted on september 6th . all clones fermented (40% whole cluster) in an open-top tank using wild yeasts. a 5-day cold soak preceded twice daily manual punch downs during an 18-day fermentation. aged for 12-months in one, two, and three year barrels. bottled without fining or filtration.
SITE
a benchmark pinot vineyard personifying “the true coast.” perched on the second ridge from the pacific ocean, a mere 3.5 miles from the sea on california’s most active seismic fault (the san andreas). pinot clones mt. eden, pommard, and 114 planted in the early 80’s on various exposures at elevations of 1100-1400 ft. soil composed of complex calcareous seabed material. impeccably farmed by the enigmatic, trail-breaking david hirsch.
we've waited three long years to be able to offer you this wine again. but that's the deal at hirsch. you can't just waltz in and expect a fruit contract. demand always outpaces supply in this vineyard, so it's more of a dance. after a few holiday cards and a couple dinner outtings with david's charming daughter jasmine, we got the nod. the fact that david hirsch thinks the world of our winemaker kevin kelley, probably didnt hurt either. some of you might recall the wine we made here in 2006? that was a different proposition altogether--the result of a huge crop and an 11th call offering us a few tons. in 2009, we had a fruit contract and had the opportunity to select the vineyard blocks and/or clones of interest to us. the wine is a blend of pinot noir clones mt. eden (block 1-b), 114 (block 15) and pommard (block 16). while all three clones work in concert to provide complexity, it is the mt. eden clone that shines though. all of the effusive high-toned aromatics come from the mt. eden, which we did 100% whole-cluster--stems and all. this wine is quite a ride--a venerable tapestry of flavors and aromas. wild strawberries and dried porcini mushrooms bound from the glass. then it's pine cone resin and oolong tea. the coastal forest is alive in this wine! but perhaps what distinguishes it is its persistence and complexity-in much the same way it does with grand cru burgundy.
| kevin kelley |
671 six packs |
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| now through 2025? |
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