2012 Chardonnay Estate

Hirsch fans will have to be exceedingly patient with the 2012 Pinots, as they are massively tannic, high-acid wines, even by the standards of the Sonoma Coast. It is pretty clear that the Hirsch family, along with winemaker Ross Cobb, is going for a California version of vins de garde, in other words, wines built for cellaring and aging. The Pinot harvest took place from September 7-20, with the goal of keeping as much freshness in the wines as possible. In the cellar, Cobb handled the wines minimally. At times, the 2012s show slight elements of reduction, similar to what is sometimes seen in Burgundy. The long and short of it is readers will have to be patient with the 2012s. Some of these wines may merit upgrades if they flesh out, but frankly, the 2012s are very hard to taste today. Jasmine Hirsch adds that the 2012s are the most tannic wines she has seen since 2007. Needless, to say, it will be quite interesting to see how these wines develop in bottle. Time will tell. In the meantime, David Hirsch continues to recover from the serious accident he sustained last year. Hopefully it won't be too long before he can get back to the vineyards he so deeply loves.