The actual product may vary from the images shown on the website.
Red dry
Estate grown Avni Pinot Noir is focused and concentrated with an overlying elegance and silky mouthfeel. The large proportion of complexly flavored, savory and mineral upper block fruit combines seamlessly with the rounder flavors of Pommard clone on Jory soils. Though the vineyard was still recovering from drought, the fruit quality was nearly perfect, as temperatures were moderate at harvest, and we avoided the later rains.
Serve at 16-18 °C with pan-roasted duck breast, filet mignon and hard cow’s milk cheeses like 18-month aged Gouda, Comte, Cantal, Parmesan.
This wine opens with lovely scents of cranberry and raspberry. Those juicy, fresh flavors follow to a lightly spicy, medium-bodied palate with a gentle hint of cholocate. It was fermented with one-quarter whole clusters and aged in 20% new French. PAUL GREGUTT
Outer quote mark Avni is built around Larry Stone’s estate vineyard in the Eola Hills, and supplemented by similar sites. Even though it’s Stone’s entry-level wine, it’s not simple; instead it reflects the shallow soils of the Eola–Amity Hills in all their mineral tension: The wine is bright and tightly packed, weaving rose-petal notes and whole-cluster spice with dark plum-skin flavors. It sustains a lovely vibrancy of flavor, grounded and direct.
Lingua Franca is one of the most modern and highly regarded wineries in Oregon, located in the Willamette Valley, a region renowned for its cool-climate ‘Chardonnay’ and ‘Pinot Noir’. Founded in 2012 by legendary Master Sommelier Larry Stone, the estate quickly gained acclaim. After a long career in some of the world’s finest restaurants, Stone decided to realize his dream of creating wines that speak the language of terroir. He is supported in this project by one of Burgundy’s most respected winemakers, Dominique Lafon (Meursault), while the winemaking is overseen by Thomas Savre, who trained in Burgundy and worked with such iconic domaines as DRC and Domaine Dujac. The name “Lingua Franca” symbolically means a “common language” – the language of wine that connects people across the world.
Wine Style
Lingua Franca wines are known for their elegance, purity, minerality, and balance. The style is based on a philosophy of minimal intervention – fermentation is carried out only with native yeasts, aging on the lees (“sur lie”) brings length and texture, while French oak is used with restraint to enhance structure without overpowering the expression of terroir. These are wines that are enjoyable when young, yet also demonstrate excellent aging potential.
Prestigious Vineyards
Lingua Franca’s flagship site is the LSV Estate Vineyard, located on the southern slopes of Eola–Amity Hills. Its terroir is defined by:
Aging and Drinking Window
Lingua Franca wines are aged in high-quality French oak barrels, typically with only a small proportion of new oak, to preserve subtlety and finesse. Thanks to their structure and precision, these wines shine in their youth but also possess the ability to age gracefully for a decade or more, revealing even greater complexity over time.
