2022 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. In 2019 we began a staged replanting process, an effort that will continue for some years to come.

Winemaking

The 2022 Hirsch East Ridge Estate Pinot Noir is a selection of the very best barrels from the finest and most expressive blocks on the East Ridge. Years of intense biodynamic soil care have helped restore vigor and energy to the old vines. In addition, the newer plantings on the East Ridge are now coming up on twenty years of age, and they are able to play a larger role in the blend. The result is wines of greater ripeness than in prior years, complimented by the dark fruit and notable tannins that characterize the East Ridge Estate Pinot Noir.

Tasting Notes

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. 2022 produced a stellar example of the East Ridge Estate Pinot Noir, with concentrated aromatics of muscular dark fruit, cherries and dried cranberries intermingle with notes of dried wild herbs, rose, anise and a hint of wet stone. The palate is dense but juicy with massive structure.

Always one of our most tannic wines, the 2022 East Ridge will need time to unwind. We recommend holding for at least two years before drinking.