2019 Hirsch Pinot Noir West Ridge
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Tasting notes
The 2019 Pinot Noir West Ridge is perfumed with fresh forest herbs, cedar, and strawberry leather. There is a bit more concentration on the palate, with cherry, dried roses, and stony minerality. As with the other wines here, there is incredible weightlessness without sacrificing complexity. Drink over the next 10-15 years. Located in Fort Ross, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, David Hirsch purchased his estate in 1978 and planted his first vines in 1980. The 2019 vintage, which was predominantly what was shown to me, marks the first vintage with his daughter, Jasmine Hirsch, taking the lead as winemaker for the estate. They have been practicing biodynamic viticulture since 2011 and were fully converted over in 2014. Their focus and attention is on the site, resulting in wines that offer elegance and purity, with transparency in regard to their sense of place.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The 2019 Pinot Noir West Ridge has a medium ruby-purple color and scents of raspberries, orange peel, forest floor, aniseed and Angostura bitters. The medium-bodied palate offers surprising concentration and power with loads of grainy tannins and bursts of refreshing acidity. Its deep core of fruit and long finish that's adorned with detailed botanical accents, suggests it will continue to unfold over the next 3-5 years in bottle. The West Ridge comes from Mt. Eden selection vines planted in 1989.
Made entirely from estate fruit and biodynamically farmed. This wine comes from fruit entirely on the western side of the property and is thus closer to the ocean and a bit cooler as well. 30% whole cluster. 31% new oak with 17 months' ageing. The West Ridge Pinot Noir brings subtler aromatics than the San Andreas Fault but still plenty of presence. It is quite subtle on the palate currently too. This wine continues with the feeling of freshness and transparency found in the other cuvées yet is distinctive from the other Pinots as well. The aromatic and flavour profiles bring a wash of red fruits and cedar accents, still showing the savoury undercurrent but additional notes that feel unique. The wine is sanguine with something almost like iodine. It feels very site-specific, like it could not be grown just anywhere. The West Ridge offers plenty of tannin, but it is also almost powdery while still ample, with palate stimulation and a lot of persistence. This wine will do well with a meal. I like the bright, fresh, subtlety of this particular cuvée. (ECB)
The 2019 Pinot Noir West Ridge is one of the most ethereal, nuanced wines in this range. Mount Eden clone Pinot planted in this collection of parcels on shallow soils at elevation yields a super-distinctive Pinot marked by a Nebbiolo-like feeling of transparency. Crushed flowers, sweet red berry fruit, mint, chalk and blood orange lend nuance throughout. The West Ridge is not an obvious wine, but it has a ton going on.