Hirsch Vineyards Chardonnay Estate 2020

- 94 Punkte JEB DUNNUCK: „The 2020 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast is mineral-driven, with crushed seashell, lemon pith, and chive. The palate is fresh with white peach, ripe pear, and honeysuckle. The texture is medium-bodied, soft, and fresh, with a wonderful elegance. Drink it over the next 8-10 years.“ Drinking window: 2022-2032
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.

- 92 Parkers WINE ADVOCATE, Erin Brooks: „The 2020 Chardonnay Estate is scented of baked yellow apples, beeswax and flint, with undertones of green herbs. The full-bodied palate offers concentrated, honeyed fruits, tangy acidity and a long, textural finish.“
Drink Date: 2022-2027
The wines at Hirsch are evolving and leaning into a slightly more concentrated, structured style as Jasmine Hirsch fully takes on the role of winemaker. I visited Jasmine in the spring of 2022 to taste the exceptional 2019s, her first full vintage as winemaker. She was joined by consulting winemaker Michael Cruse, proprietor of Ultramarine and Cruse Wine Co. "Wine is the product of a thousand little decisions," Jasmine noted. In the case of Hirsch, it is also the result of several vineyards offering a wide range of expressions. Located at the western edge of Sonoma County overlooking the Pacific Ocean, weather and soils are completely different from warm, dry inland appellations such as the Russian River Valley. "People think of Hirsch as a single vineyard because they see other producers' bottlings of 'Hirsch Vineyards,'" Jasmine explained. "It's not a single vineyard but an estate. There is an overarching characteristic, but these vineyards are so unique because of changes in the topography, the variety of the plant material and the activity of the San Andreas fault." Approved in May 2022, Hirsch can now make use of the newly minted West Sonoma Coast appellation. In 2020, Hirsch decided to pick everything after experiencing previous wildfires in 2008, the same year Jasmine started working at the property. "You could smell the smoke coming off the grapes on the sorting table," she recalled. "But we also learned that you can't under-extract. If you're going to make the wines, make them as closely as you can to how you usually do." In 2020, grapes were treated the same, with the exception of de-stemming the Pinot Noir and discarding press wine. "We made half our wines, which is better than zero," Jasmine said, gratefully. "This is my family's business, and there's no room for failure." East Ridge, Maritime, Old Vineyard and Raschen Ridge will be missing from the 2020 lineup, so stock up on these stunning 2019s!