During the first week of December, our valued members will be given the rare opportunity to purchase from a selection of our most gracefully aged library wines. A note on provenance: all these wines have been stored by us since they were bottled; they have never left our control, and we can guarantee that they have been stored perfectly their entire lives. 

Winemaker Jasmine Hirsch recently embarked on an ambitious mission to retaste every wine, and every vintage, we have ever made since 2002. During this quest, she has made note of some of those wines she has found to be showing remarkably well now, and ready for your enjoyment. Members should keep an eye out for an email from Jasmine with a link to their allocation for vintages ranging from 2007 to 2013.

Jasmine recently shared her thoughts on the aging of Hirsch wines, sourced from the vines her father, David, has been planting at our site since 1980:

One of the great pleasures of collecting wine is to follow an individual bottling over time. With age, the exuberant young fruit softens, tannins lengthen, and the wine gains additional complexity. With the lengthening of the tannins, the mid palate opens, and the mouthfeel becomes smoother and more seamless. I strongly encourage our collectors to buy multiple bottles of their favorite Hirsch Pinots so they can experience this process themselves. 

The wines of Hirsch Vineyards are mountain wines, distinguished by their acidic complexity, noteworthy tannins and concentration of fruit. Due to their structure and fruit density, there is the potential for extended aging. The key is to find that window where the fruit is still present, but the tannins have had a chance to soften. 

I hope very much you will enjoy this window into our winemaking, vineyard and history. Real wine is a historical marker: of the people, place and time in which it was made. It brings me great joy to share this experience with you. 

In preparation for this release, and in response to the thoughtful questions we often receive about how our wines age, Jasmine has prepared some more information on how we like to age and serve Hirsch wines. Click here to read more about aging our wines, and here for serving our wines.