94 Points Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Pinot Noir Estate saw 20% whole clusters and 20% new oak. A representation of the vineyard, the blend can vary from year to year. The 2022 is a ripe ruby color and opens to notes of spice and ripe raspberries. Medium-bodied, it’s a great appellation wine, with ripe tannins and a great finish. Drink 2024-2036. A few thousand cases were produced.
 
Winemaker Notes
Lingua Franca The Plow Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. 
A large proportion of fruit from some of our finest sites, 48% coming from Blocks 1 - 3, planted with PN777 clone. Another 44% is sourced from two blocks of the bold PN 115. The elegant and nuanced PN777 Pinot Noir grown on Gelderman-Jory soils creates the top notes of mineral, rose petal and savory elements while the PN115 provides the fruit, body and weight of the wine.
 
The fruit was sorted in the vineyard, hand-picked, then fermented with wild yeast in medium sized concrete and stainless-steel tanks. The Estate Pinot had 21% whole cluster fermentation without any carbonic. The rest of the fruit was destemmed with only whole berries selected for the final wine. The grapes are sorted first in the vineyard and then by hand and machine at the crushpad. Only whole berries are carried by forklift to the stainless-steel fermenters. Fermentation is spontaneous with wild yeast. Punch downs are done by traditional pigeage. After fermentation, the Estate Pinot Noir 2021 was aged in a combination of 25% new and 75% old French oak barriques for 12 months and four in tank, prior to bottling.
 
Food Pairings
Loin of lamb, Filet Mignon, veal chop, veal scallopini, pasta with Bolognese sauce, charcuterie, hard cheeses, hamburger, Viennese boiled beef (Tafelspitz), Wienerschnitzel, Kalbi, Bulgogi. Teriyaki, Vietnamese shaking beef, Chinese broccoli beef or Feast of the Immortals? Experimentation is welcome!