Winemaker Notes
Lingua Franca Estate Pinot Noir enters with red fruits of raspberry and pomegranate, juicy red cherry, and has moderate, round tannins that provide structure. The finish is medium long and mineral with a discernable salinity.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Pinot Noir Estate sees 25% new oak, with 25% whole cluster inclusion, and pours a jeweled ruby hue. Super expressive on the nose, with notes of framboise, wild herbs, rosemary, and dusty earth, the palate takes on more iron richness in its texture and profile, with ripe fruit and tannins and an even spine of acidity.
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Wine Spectator
A compelling, multilayered red, with lilting raspberry and cherry flavors that expand to reveal fresh violet and earthy mineral accents, which build tension toward refined tannins.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Estate has intense aromas of cranberry, red cherry and orange peel accented by woodsy, spicy undertones. The light-bodied palate is soft and vibrant with generous, nuanced flavors and a long finish laced with bitters and spice.
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Wine Enthusiast
Boysenberries and savory roasted meat aromas are quite a one-two punch. Touches of worn leather and orange peel are mere bonuses. The tannins of this wine are grippy, providing a bit of chewiness to the texture. Red raspberries and cherries meld with flavors of strong black tea and a trace of wet slate.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.