2023 Maritime Estate Pinot Noir, Hirsch Vineyards

Probably my favourite of the tasting, for its singularity and very appetising quality. Elegant and lifted nose with red berry fruit and something reminiscent of the wild fennel that grows around the vineyard. The Maritime plots are also surrounded by redwood trees, and the wine is evocative of these savoury, dark forest, herbal aromatics. Moreover, there’s a gap in the distant ridgeline that separates these plots from the Pacific, and you can see the sea from the middle of the vineyard. Combining this with the character of the vintage, there’s a distinctly cool feel to the 2023 Maritime Pinot, with appetising stony notes in the long, acid-driven finish.