2011 Hirsch ‘East Ridge’ Estate Pinot Noir

The East Ridge Estate Pinot Noir is a mountain wine: muscular, dark-fruited and structured, it’s a regal and powerful Pinot Noir that is among our most cellar-worthy.

Sloping steeply into a deep, interior valley, the East Ridge is somewhat sheltered from the full onslaught of the coastal influences, making this a relatively warmer site. These vines are some of the oldest at Hirsch and are stressed by phylloxera and shallow mountain soils. Yields are extremely low in the oldest sections.

Around eighty percent of the old vines on the East Ridge are stricken with phylloxera, requiring intensive and meticulous vine-by-vine farming.

Tasting Notes

The 2011 Pinot Noirs have always been notable for the purity of their fruit. Now with age, the freshness and precision of the vintage remains, with the added complexity of age. Notes of blackberry, dried cherries and minerality. On the palate, the wine is juicy and fresh, overflowing with energy. Not a big wine per se, but mouth filling and very long. A gravelly, mineral tannic edge speaks to mountain soils. Open minimum one hour before drinking; decant if desired. Updated November 2025.