2022 Hirsch 'Raschen Ridge' Estate Pinot Noir

“Terroir is within the site; we do not impose it. Our responsibility is to listen and be ready when it shows itself.” – David Hirsch

As you walk along the western edge of the Raschen Ridge, cold winds off the Pacific buffet you, and tendrils of fog follow you amongst the vines. Here the Ridge is a knife’s edge, exposed on all sides to the elements. These vines produce wines of body, weight and a kinetic energy. Follow the Ridge to its eastern end, and you will discover a hidden vineyard. Protected, idyllic and sheltered, it's like another world. From here all of Hirsch is laid out before you, and yet you're hidden in a secret garden. These vines produce ethereal wines: delicate yet persistent, complex yet charming.

The Raschen Ridge Pinot Noir is the happy marriage of these two opposite expressions. They coexist on the Raschen Ridge, a microcosm of the San Andrean complexity that defines all of Hirsch. And they result in a wine that seamlessly combines self-confidence with elegance, hedonism with complexity, and pleasure with intrigue. 

Henry Raschen (1854–1937) was a painter of the American West who lived on the ranch that is now Hirsch Vineyards. Old-timers called our ranch the Raschen Place, and Henry’s house stood here until 1954.

TASTING NOTES: The 2022 Raschen Ridge opens with cool fruit – rhubarb, cranberry and sour cherry – with notes of graphite, anise, orange peel and winter forest. The palate is defined by a hedonistic combination of fruit density, muscular tannins and that classic Raschen Ridge energy, balanced with buoyancy and freshness. One of the most powerful expressions of the Raschen Ridge Pinot Noir yet produced.

 SERVICE NOTES: We recommend cellaring this wine for a few years before opening.