Lingua Franca Tongue‘n Cheek Pinot Noir 2023

Drink it now or cellar for up to 15 years. No need to decant, but best to open it half an hour before service. Located in Salem, Lingua Franca is an Oregon winery founded in 2015 by Larry Stone and Dominique Lafon. The project was born after Larry Stone acquired an extraordinary vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills, and today the winery produces a wide range of high-quality wines that fully express the potential of this wine region. The Pinot Noir grapes come from vineyards located in Yamhill-Carlton (a site primarily planted with Chardonnay) and Dundee, on volcanic soils. After harvest, the wine is fermented in a mix of stainless steel and cement with indigenous yeasts. The finished wine then ages for a year in 25% new oak barrels before blending, and for a further four months in stainless steel before bottling. The result is a lively and expressive wine, with an open and fragrant aromatic profile revealing notes of rose and violet, red fruits, and tea leaves, against a background of spicy and mineral notes. On the palate, it is rounded and rich, soft and concentrated, with velvety tannins and a good structure. The brisk acidity refreshes the palate and suggests good aging potential. The finish is long and echoes the notes perceived on the nose. Try it with game birds or mushroom risotto.