Today we share the wines from one of the consistently great Oregon producers of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Lingua Franca begins with their estate vineyard, located between the Lone Star, Jerusalem Hills and Seven Springs vineyards. It is a truly sensational site. Larry Stone, MS, previously managed wine portfolios for Francis Ford Coppola as well as Augustin Huneeus before founding Lingua Franca with David Honig. After rigorous negotiations, the land for Lingua Franca was finally purchased in late 2012. We are all very glad that Larry did that.
In late 2014, Dominique Lafon of Evening Land fame indicated that he would be interested in collaborating on the project and the team began work together in February of 2015. At time that Lafon protégé, Thomas Savre, also came aboard as he had a wealth experience in some of the most illustrious wineries in Burgundy. Thomas served as assistant winemaker at Evening Land before being promoted as winemaker for Lingua Franca. Thomas is a younger winemaker with plenty of enthusiasm and a killer palate. He might be even more crazy for top champagne than myself.
I love the wines that he made in 2019 which wasn’t the easiest vintage particularly for Pinot Noir, as conditions at harvest were very rainy with what was generally a good, typical growing season. These are gorgeous wines across the board with plenty of mid-palate weight. I adored the 2019 Lingua Franca ‘Lingua Franca Estate’ Chardonnay (OB, 94) which poses for a top notch Mersault. The Pinot Noir releases were also awesome, none more so than the 2019 Lingua Franca ‘Lingua Franca Estate’ Pinot Noir (OB, 94) which is deep, concentrated and has some massive cellaring potential. Learn more about Lingua Franca at https://www.linguafranca.wine Here are the beautiful new releases by Lingua Franca.
2019 Lingua Franca ‘Avni’ Chardonnay- The 2019 ‘Avni’ shows off bright pear and pink grapefruit tons alongside wonderful acidity, stony undertones and a light salinity. Linear and seamless, with great lip-smacking acidity, enjoy this beautiful wine over the next decade. Drink 2021-2028- 93
2019 Lingua Franca ‘Lingua Franca Estate’ Chardonnay- The 2019 ‘Lingua Franca Estate’ Chardonnay is a gorgeous new wine by the talented Thomas Savre. Flinty tones mingle with wild mushroom, Japanese pear and citrus blossom aromatics that all take shape in the glass. The palate is round, generous and wonderfully textured. This is finesse-driven, seamless Oregon Chardonnay. The great sense of length adds to the enjoyment as this beautiful wine is not even fully hitting its stride. Drink 2021-2036- 94
2019 Lingua Franca ‘Bunker Hill’ Chardonnay- Sourced from one of the great sites for Oregon Chardonnay, the 2019 ‘Bunker Hill’ Chardonnay was first planted back in 1995 and is set on volcanic soils, as vines receive a profound maritime influence. Wet stone and honeydew melon aromas mingle with baking spice infused Challah bread and salted pear on this beautiful nose. The palate has a great veil of tension with a light dusting of salinity. This is ultra-refined stuff, yielding wonderful lemon oil flavors alongside brioche, white pepper and diatomaceous earthy accents that makes this very Oregon vs. Dauvissat. Gorgeous now, this beautiful wine will continue to evolve over the next ten to fifteen years. Drink 2021-2036- 95
2019 Lingua Franca ‘La Belle’ Pinot Noir- The 2019 ‘La Belle’ Pinot Noir is a limited production bottling from some of the finer soils in the ‘Lingua Franca Estate Vineyard.’ The wine is fresh, elegant and seamless. While not particularly rich, the elegance imparted truly makes this wine live up to its name, with very pretty red fruits and damp earthy tones. Drink 2021-2031- 93
2019 Lingua Franca ‘The Lingua Franca Estate’ Pinot Noir- For many years the ‘Lingua Franca Estate Vineyard’ has been one of the hallowed sites in the Eola-Amity Hills. With Pinot Noir vines set on volcanic soils, this shows off a nice dusting of white pepper and volcanic earth on the nose with bright red fruits and red floral tones rounding out this expressive bouquet. The palate has incredible finesse with good richness and a long finish. Truly outstanding now, this will provide drinking enjoyment over the next fifteen years. Drink 2021-2036- 94
2019 Lingua Franca ‘The Plow’ Pinot Noir- Sourced from blocks 1 and 2 in the ‘Lingua Franca Estate Vineyard’ this Pinot Noir is entirely Dijon clone 777. Salty and savory charcuterie aromatic tones with huckleberry and damp earth tones all sing in unison. The palate is dense and chewy with firm tannins. The wine shows good weight and tension, with bright dark fruits that collide with orange rind and tilled earth undertones. Gorgeous in its youth, be sure to give this at least a one hour decant if savoring now. Drink 2022-2036- 94