Lingua Franca Avni Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

The 2021 Avni Pinot Noir is subtle and mouth filling, immediately pleasing and rich. The large proportion of complexly flavored fruit from shallow Gelderman soils combines seamlessly with the richer fruit flavors of Pommard and 115 clone Pinot Noir on Jory and Nekia soils. The wine has many layers that unfold with both red and black cherry fruit, tea, rose petal, savory and mineral nuances, finishing with a round, plummy texture. 2021 Avni will count among the best we have ever made.

Winter was extremely cold, with a historic ice storm that left the region without power for two weeks. It remained cool and wet throughout early spring, but warmed up in time to have a major heat dome event at the end of June with record-breaking 116°F temperatures. The resiliency of our non- irrigatedsoils,havingfracturedbasaltasboth an insulator as well as source of stored water meant that our vines had almost no negative effect and remained verdant all the way through. The heat event reduced mildew pressure from a wet spring and the harvest proceeded with fruit in perfect balance and excellent, moderately cool conditions.