Pinot Noir

wines

A jeweled ruby/red hue, the 2022 Pinot Noir The Plow is an exceptional wine all around and its name pays tribute to all of those who work in the vineyard for the estate. In the glass, it reveals a spiced and complex nose with aromas of black cherries, anise, sappy forest herbs, fresh leather, and crushed flowers. As it opens, it continues to evolve and bring forward more sanguine notes of blood orange that frame the wine beautifully. The palate offers outstanding depth and intensity with a characteristic elegance and weightless feel, plush tannins, refreshing salinity, and mineral underpinnings. I would recommend stashing this one away for a few years and drink 2026-2040. Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDSmoky, earth-driven umami marks this aromatically intense bottling of The Plow from Lingua Franca. Sourced from choice blocks in the Lingua Franca estate Block 1, with a special massal selection of 777 as well as 115 in Block 3, Calera Clone in Block 6, and structure from clone 943 in Block 4. Gravelly soils give this wine all the earthen intensity you can handle. Turned soils and singed violets come together with notes of smoky clove and salty soy. The palate delivers ripe blackberries, savoury sesame oil and rich ferrous minerality that carries the finish with a touch of iron and blood. Wow.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECAn air of dusty rose and crushed chalk gives way to herbal-tinged blackberries as the 2022 Pinot Noir The Plow blossoms in the glass. Soothingly round and supple, yet also savory to the core, this drenches the palate with masses of red/blue fruit and saline mineral tones, all offset by a hit of sour citrus. Perfumed inner florals resonate over a bed of fine-grained tannins as The Plow finishes dramatically long, youthfully structured and spicy.Vinous Media | 94 VMSteely and vivid, with bright acidity and stony minerality, this Pinot offers cranberry and pomegranate flavors laced with forest floor and tea leaf as this gathers tension toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2032. 1,188 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

A good bit of this wine comes from Bishop Creek, up to one-third, though it includes five to six other sites. ‘The idea of this wine is to express both the Valley and the vintage,’ says Jean Nicolas Méo. It’s both a vineyard and barrel selection and 30% new oak. The aromatics are grounded in red florals, with touches of earth and a spritz of spiced blood orange. The palate is elegant and refined, with tart berries, a silken structure and a beautiful finish of savoury spice. We make the barrel selection for this wine first before we make our single vineyard wines. ‘These are the best sites and our best barrels from the vintage,’ says partner Jay Boberg.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECThe 2022 Pinot Noir L’Ensemble is a top 100 Wines of the Year contender. Sporting a reflective medium ruby hue in the glass, it’s pretty and inviting on opening, with pure notes of wild berries, delicate spices, crushed stones, and fresh roses. Medium-bodied on the palate, it’s refreshing and light on its feet, with fine tannins, a clean feel all the way through, and a tapered, mouthwatering finish. Seamless and pure, this is a fantastic appellation wine to enjoy over the next 10-12 years. I would snatch up a case or two to enjoy more frequently.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDElegant and pure, this pinot opens with aromas of fresh cherries, red currants, subtle flowers, dried tangerine peel and savory herbs. The palate is medium-bodied and effortlessly balanced, with silky tannins and lively acidity carrying the wine to a long, smooth, slightly spiced finish. I like the mineral tension. Better from 2027.James Suckling | 94 JSA steely version, with chiseled acidity and pinpoint notes of cranberry and cherry that are laced with stony minerality, forest floor and rose petal details as this gathers tension toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2033. 1,348 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThis best barrel selection from prime Willamette Valley vineyards invites you in with aromas of rose petals, red cherries, sweet pea flowers and lemon. Crisp acidity awakens the palate to fresh flavors of boysenberries, rosemary and orange zest. L’Ensemble’s tannins are as silky as its texture. To quote the Fine Young Cannibals, the L’Ensemble is a "Good Thing." Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEThe 2022 Pinot Noir L’Ensemble is a total pleasure to take in, mixing wild blueberries and cherries with sweet spice and hints of cola. This is fruit-forward yet refined, with juicy acidity and bitter tinges of clove and citrus that add contrast throughout. It tapers off with medium length, leaving a tart cranberry crunchiness and a pleasantly chewy sensation that persists.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The 2022 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard is a high point of a beautiful lineup, showcasing both Tyler’s high-fidelity winemaking and the pedigree of this famed vineyard site now part of the estate roster. The darkest, most brooding nose in the range, the aromas here are almost sweet in their concentration but offer a balancing, savory energy. The palate is driven by an umami-like richness, with immense confidence and intensity. It finishes with decadent fruit flavors surrounded by woody, drying tannins that continue to swell with aeration. This wine shows another level of richness than is typical in the Tyler lineup, and it should have an impressive aging trajectory.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2022 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix is laced with dark cherry, plum, mocha, spice and licorice. Forward and juicy, with tons of immediacy, the Fiddlestix is very nicely balanced. There’s gorgeous mid-palate structure and overall resonance here. The 2022 is impeccable. This is the first site Justin Willett picks. The style is on the more forward, juicy side for Tyler, which is likely attributable to the Dijon clones planted here.Vinous Media | 94 VM

A vivid and crunchy pinot with lots of sea salt, strawberries and hibiscus with hints of violets and sandalwood. Notes of fresh flower stem. it’s medium-bodied with pretty fruit and a long, bright finish with plenty of energy. Drink now.James Suckling | 94 JS

This is incredibly fresh and vivid with orange peel, orange blossoms, cherries and hints of rose stem. Medium-bodied with a sleek and racy palate of creamy, fine tannins and a energetic length and purity. Crunchy. 100% whole cluster. From vineyards planted in 1955. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JS

An amazingly complex, dynamic wine that demands your attention from the first sniff to the lingering finish. Aromas of redwood forest, rosemary, purple flowers and black cherries, then black tea, pomegranate, dark cherry, dried raspberry and wild mushroom flavors. Fine-grained moderate tannins and crunchy acidity give it such a firm backbone. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2023 Pinot Noir Royal St. Robert is redolent of floral, savory and citrus notes. I find it especially brilliant and crystalline. At the same time, the 2023 is pretty tightly wound. Rose petal, iron, tea leaves, incense and dried herbs open nicely with some coaxing, The colder growing season brings out the slightly gamier, wilder side of Pinot Noir along with plenty of brightening acidity in this mid-weight, taut Pinot from Raen. I would give this a year or two in bottle at a minimum.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier is very pure and sensual on the nose, with generous red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit tones that envelop the senses. The palate is well balanced with a gentle grip, but there is more energy and greater frisson toward the finish than the Vieilles Vignes, which beckons you back for another sip. This is excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VMHere too there is just enough wood to merit pointing out suffusing the compositionally similar, if less expressive, nose. The succulent and rounded medium weight flavors still manage to retain good detail on the solidly powerful, youthfully austere and moderately rustic finish that is both compact and robust. This is an excellent Gevrey villages that is worth your interest.Burghound | 90 BH

I tasted the 2023 Pinot Noir Le Caprice as a sample just before it was bottled. It has slowly unfolding aromas of cranberry, red cherry, tea leaves and mint, becoming more floral as it airs in the glass. The palate is layered and concentrated with woodsy, earthy flavors evocative of a forest. It’s structured by silky tannins and vibrant acidity and boasts a flourish of spicy accents on the long finish. A total of 979 cases were made, and the wine will be released in April of 2025.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RP

The 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru has an expressive bouquet with pure red cherry, raspberry and strawberry fruit tones bounding from the glass with nascent energy. The oak is neatly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins. It has more depth than the Lavaux—a little broader in the mouth. This is very harmonious toward the finish with greater backbone. It’s excellent.Vinous Media | 94 VMAn even crimson ruby colour. The fruit is more immediate than the Ruchottes. This is seamless across the palate and leaves a gorgeously balanced feeling of little red fruits at the finish, entirely covering the tannins, which in any case are refined. There is a little minerality too as befits Cazetiers. Really a lovely stylish finale. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 94-96 JMSubtle wood influence can be found on the spicy and ripe aromas of poached plum and floral nuances, especially violet. The sleek, delineated and powerful flavors are a mix of the refinement and minerality of the Estournelles St. Jacques with the power and muscle of the Lavaut St. Jacques, all wrapped in a more complex, longer and more structured finale. This is excellent and warmly recommended.Burghound | 93 BH

Incredibly perfumed with violets and white flowers, followed by raspberry, cherry and strawberry flavors. Sliced lemon rind notes with mineral and fine wet sand undertones. Medium-bodied with fine tannins that run the length of the wine and give a beautiful, rather endless finish. Planted in 1945. Only 2 hectares. Best Lunita ever. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JS