SET: 2021 Lingua Franca Bundle 750 ml

Lingua Franca makes some of the best examples of both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from anywhere in the world. The stars of their lineup are the 2021 Bunker Hill Chardonnay and The Plow Pinot Noir—both of which hail from a vintage already being heralded as a modern classic, both boasting 98-point scores from Jeb Dunnuck. 

When we visited the winery, winemaker Thomas Savre said something that stopped us in our tracks: The winemaking in Oregon might be better than its counterpart in Burgundy. It’s a claim that perhaps only he could make. Born in France, and with experience at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Dujac, he became Dominique Lafon’s right-hand man—first at Evening Land, then here at Lingua Franca. 

Bunker Hill Vineyard is a stunning site in the Willamette Valley’s South Salem Hills, a windy region dominated by volcanic basalt soils. The vineyard predates Lingua Franca—it was planted in the mid-90s—but its purchase was one of the first things that Lingua Franca’s founders, star sommelier Larry Stone and Dominique Lafon, negotiated. At Bunker Hill, the winds and 650+ feet of altitude preserve fresh acidity in the wine, creating a bottle that will stand with Premier Cru Puligny.

On the Pinot side, The Plow comes from the upper blocks of the Lingua Franca estate vineyard, which boasts coveted Jory soils—similar to what made Dundee’s red hills so famous—and a massale selection of the 777 clone. These volcanic soils are beloved by Willamette winemakers for the floral tones and seductive dark-cherry fruit they bring, which marry perfectly to the depth and structure typical of the Eola-Amity Hills.