Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
San Andreas is the wine that represents the entire Hirsch estate, from the ocean-influenced west ridge to the sun-warmed east ridge; in 2014, it draws from 30 of the vineyard’s 61 farming blocks. It has an undeniable sense of place, capturing coastal breezes and thin sedimentary ridgetop soils in the tight weave of its tannins—the fruit caught halfway between cherry and stone, cool and shady, yet hinting at vibrant rays of sunshine. You can access its complex floral spice now, but it’s still mostly structure, nowhere near maturity. Floral, foggy and mineral, it’s a wine you’ll want to taste in another decade.
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Wine Enthusiast
A toasty wood-smoke aroma meets firm, vivid and rather tart fruit flavors in this medium-bodied, elegant and cerebral wine. It has firm structure and good balance, as finegrained tannins and tangy acidity support the redcherry and raspberry flavors.
The Sonoma Coast AVA is large in area but, not counting overlapping regions like Russian River Valley, only has a few thousand acres of grapevines—and it’s no wonder. Much of the region is rugged and not easily accessible. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean’s fog and cool breezes limits the varieties that can be cultivated, but it proves to be an ideal environment for high quality Pinot Noir.
Since fog is a frequent fact of life here, as are heavy marine layers that sometimes bring rain, the best vineyards are wisely planted above the fog line, on picturesque ridges that capture enough sun to provide even ripening. That, with the overnight drop in temperature that reliably preserves acidity, results in fine expressions of Pinot Noir that often receive tremendous critic and consumer praise alike, and are often in high demand.