Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A bright red color, the 2023 Pinot Noir The Plow is from the top blocks of the estate and then blended blind. It has lifted, bright aromatics of pomegranate, strawberries, sweet herbs, and floral perfume. It's medium-bodied, with a graceful and approachable feel, fine tannins, and a floating finish. It’s delightful now and should drink fantastically over the coming 12-15 years.
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Vinous
The 2023 The Plow Pinot Noir opens with a perfumed blend of crushed blackberries and cherries, complemented by dried herbs and nuances of spiced orange. Juicy and playful up front, it offers lavender-laced red berry fruits supported by tantalizing acidity, while a pleasantly sour twang emerges toward the close. The finish shows outstanding length and is full of tension as the cheeks pucker and a hint of lavender slowly fades. Incredibly fun to taste.
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Decanter
Earth-driven, powerful and aptly named, The Plough comes from the Lingua Franca estate. Ripe strawberries, green tea and black brambles met savoury herbals and sweet earth aromas. The palate is densely fruited with black and red berries, sous bois and gobs of savoury herbs. There's black tea and tannin providing ample structure that finishes tightly packed. This wine will benefit from patience.
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James Suckling
This fresh and vibrant, medium-bodied wine is pure, lively and energetic. Aromas of Bing cherries, wildflowers and orange zest. The palate is juicy, with flavors of pomegranates, tangelos, spices and mountain herbs. Fine yet persistent tannins. This wine has a long life ahead. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Pinot Noir The Plow has detailed scents of red cherry, cranberry, tobacco, flint and bitters. The medium-bodied palate is bursting with spicy fruit. It’s framed by fine, chalky tannins and bright acidity, and it has a long, floral finish.
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Wine Spectator
Tart and snappy, with bright cherry and raspberry fruit leather flavors overlayed by mineral, savory tea and forest floor accents that build tension toward steely tannins. Drink now through 2033.
Home of some of the planet’s most amazingly elegant and expressive Pinot noir, the Willamette Valley is a pastoral, mixed landscape of green, bucolic rolling hills, dramatic forestlands and small, independent, friendly wine growers. As a leader in environmental stewardship, the valley has some of the nation’s most protective land use policies, with two-thirds of its vineyards farmed sustainably and over half, organically. While the valley claims a cool, continental climate, and is heavily influenced by the cold, moist winds of the Pacific Ocean, its warm and dry summers allow for the steady, even ripening of Pinot noir.
The potential of Willamette Valley Pinot noir continues to attract the investment of serious growers and winemakers both locally and from abroad, as naturally the finished wines bring accolades from professionals and enthusiasts. With a range of styles from delicate dried cherry, raspberry and hibiscus to stronger notes of truffle, mocha, plum and spice, a fine Willamette Valley Pinot noir is a perfect expression of both character and grace.