A Harsh Year on the Coast
When Marie and I attend wine events, we often hear how fortunate we are to be growing grapes and making wine in a beautiful environment. However there are times when the environment on these rugged coastal ridges can be unforgiving to the cultivation of wine grapes. Such was the case in the spring of 2005. Thirty inches of spring rains effectively destroyed the crop during bloom, leaving yields of one half ton per acre. And this happened to a vintage that showed every indication of being superior in quality and quantity. Just a few miles inland, the harvest set a record!
There were so few berries that the bunches looked like leprous cadavers. The shatter was unbearable. It was so gruesome that I often became physically ill on entering a field and had to retreat.
2005 did see some positive developments in the fields and winery. We harvested the first fruit from our beautiful new vineyards. We invested in them all our experience and lots of money, especially in evaluation of our highly variegated soils and which rootstocks would be the best match. The average annual rainfall here is eighty inches. Different soils hold different amounts of water over time and this effects quality. There are twenty-six new acres and all will be in production in 2007.
A very pleasant surprise has been the first chardonnay made from 1.37 acres planted in 2002 on a hill of sandstone. Total production came to only eight cases, but ooh la la: it is great. In 2006 Steve Kistler gave up the old block of chardonnay, allowing us to produce enough wine to offer on the mailing list next year.
Important improvements were made in fruit handling. I believe that the most sensitive areas in making pinot noir are the processing of the fruit from the moment it is picked to when it goes into the fermenter, and how the wine is handled during aging and bottling. In 2005 we added a shaker table to the fruit processing and sorting line to help sort out raisins, pieces of stems, and other small green bits. This made it truly feasible to check every destemmed berry before the fruit is put in to the fermenter. We purchased a new basket press that is especially sensitive to pinot. Unfortunately, the twenty-one tons pressed hardly broke in the machine; but the press wine was quite superior and is included in the 2005 Hirsch.
We are slowly learning that the typical character of this site comes from the complex of soils, slopes, and exposures worked on by the rain and wildly random climate. The 2005 has focus and depth composed of myriad elements. This is due to the blending of many individual blocks, each with its own rootstock and clone. We farm the blocks discreetly. The fruit is harvested, sorted, fermented and aged separately. After many blind tasting trials, each barrel is allocated to a specific cuvee. Only at bottling is the wine blended.
Given the small production, I suggest you order early to reserve your wine. Unless you specify spring delivery, your wine will be shipped in the fall.
The Vintage and the Wine
The year started well with cold, wet weather. Bud swell was observed early in February. The pruning was completed early March and the buds opened at that time. March was warm and the vines looked superb. Rain and hail commenced in late March and April causing rot in some blocks. Growth was arrested. Early May was warm and fairly dry. Bloom started mid-May. On May 17, six inches of rain fell with damage to the shoots. By June 6 the vines were at fifty percent bloom when a storm with high winds and three more inches of rain hit. On June 16 the last rain fell, only one point six five inches, but it shattered most of the remaining flowers. Set came by July 10.
Along with the short crop came high farming costs to retard disease and deal with excessive vigor. It’s like pouring water into a holey bucket. Verasion began in early August and the harvest started September 20 and lasted until October 14. Weather during ripening and harvest was cool and sunny, ideal for fully mature, great fruit.
The 2005 wine is composed of fruit from eleven of our older blocks; five of our newly planted ones; and from the Hellenthal and McDougal ranches. The Hellenthal vineyards adjoin our property and are farmed by our men; McDougal is visible down the valley on the next ridge inland, about two miles away as the crow flies, a good forty minute drive by road. While Hellenthal experienced the same disastrous yield as we did, the McDougals were a bit more fortunate at one ton per acre. (The five year average for our older blocks is two tons per acre.) We went through many blind blending trials to determine the final composition of the 2005. It was a difficult exercise in part because the wines did not finish secondary fermentation until late summer, and due to working with the McDougal fruit for the first time. Eventually we decided that the best result came from blending all thirty nine barrels into one cuvee and to not make The Bohan-Dillon (For you who remember The Bohan Dillon, plenty is on the way: there are 220 barrels of 2006 pinot and twelve of chardonnay aging as this is being written – we went from famine to feast in one year: ain’t Nature a peculiar experience?).
The 2005 Hirsch has a mysterious depth of unrevealed surprises and potentials. It is a bit tight now, but opens with abundance when given air for a sustained period. While the vintage was a financial disaster, the wine is a treasure and reward unto itself. Try to give it time to evolve; and if you open a bottle early, decant it and give it time to breathe. We wish this result of our site, the crazy climate, and our efforts brings you great pleasure.
David & Marie Hirsch