Vincent Wine Company
Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette, Oregon
Organic farming, only dry-farmed fruit.
“We now know more about why we do less.”
For nearly a decade, we’ve had the privilege to know Vincent Fritzsche, a genial, thoughtful, yet undeniably serious winemaker based in the Eola-Amity Hills of the Willamette Valley. Over the last twenty years, this former writer and editor has developed a quiet reputation for making some of the most detailed, delicious, and expressive wines in the Willamette Valley (and beyond).
For Vincent, in these twenty years, very little has changed. Which is to say that he has held fast to the principles that led him into this life in the first place: a trust in the purity and energy of dry-farmed organic fruit; a pride in knowing how and when–and when not–to act in the cellar; and a vigilant intuition for the radical beauty of the unadorned, via the media of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and other Burgundian varieties.
Aaron and Tracy Kendall
Essentially a one-person show, Vincent has sought from the very beginning to cultivate and sustain connections with some of the very best vineyards in Oregon. “We don’t jump around,” he says, noting his long partnerships with farmers, all of whom dry farm, most certified organic and/or biodynamic. This is critical, not only because the human connections he has built mean so much to him, but also because it allows him to understand these parcels over the long span of time. This is no romantic dalliance, by the way, but rather an ethical and social commitment: for example, Vincent still paid farmers for their fruit in 2020, even though he could not make the wines due to smoke contamination. Taken together, this amounts to a human dialogue over terroir and taste that can be felt palpably in the wines.
The wines are thus a product of intuition and feeling buoyed by experience. Vincent’s wines have a light-handed, decidedly old-world feel, with a particular aim toward chiselled Chardonnay of crystalline depth and late-ripening, structure-forward Pommard clones for Pinot Noir,. A devotee of low-toast, long-dried neutral barrels and aged in low-toast long-dried mostly neutral barrels (just a few new cycled in per year out of 130), his fruit is transparently a product of its vintage and its place. Once accused of picking early, Vincent’s harvest regimen is now en vogue, with many across the region having careened over the past 10-15 years. The goal is “al dente ripeness,” the expression of balance and structure alongside fruit. Regardless of comparisons with Burgundy, Oregon has more sun; the question is how to create detailed and defined wines from these varieties that have made a new life far from their ancestral home. With particular focus on Eola-Amity and Ribbon Ridge AVAs, Vincent’s wines are aromatic, pure, detailed, but satisfying–and exactly what we want to drink from Oregon. We’re proud to begin our work in the USA with an old friend and fellow traveler, with wines that fit seamlessly into the ethos and approach of what we do at Loci.
Wines Available:
“Tardive” Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2022
Primarily from 1 acre of the Dion vineyard in Laurelwood AVA, ~40-year old own-rooted vines of the 108 Wente clone. A small part of the cuvee is fruit from Royer vineyard, volcanic soils in Eola-Amity. Now the norm for his Chardonnay program, Tardive denotes an extended aging regime; 18 months aging in primarily neutral barrels.
Royer Vineyard Chardonnay 2022, Eola-Amity Hills AVA
Ensemble of Dijon clones grown on Royer’s volcanic soils at 600-700ft elevation, cooled by the force of the winds from the Van Duzer corridor. 18 months aging in 20% new barrels.
Willamette Valley Gamay Noir 2023, Chehalem Mountain AVA
Old vines on quite acidic soils, grafted to Gamay a decade ago. A nod to the joys of Cru Beaujolais, not to Burgundy. 18 barrels made, two of which are foot-trod and fermented whole-cluster.
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023
A beautiful and classic composite of an excellent year: balancing marine-sediment soils in Ribbon Ridge–where Vincent prefers to use some stems–alongside mostly de-stemmed fruit from the Eola-Amity, including Zenith vineyard and young vines from the famed Temperance Hill. Aging in neutral barrique.
Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir 2022
A blend of Eola-Amity fruit from the same hill: Temperance Hill at the top and Zenith lower down, with predominantly volcanic soils and the classic fruit profile of the AVA. Expertly managed tannins in a complicated vintage, this is expressive and detailed already. Aging in neutral barrique.
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023
A beautiful and classic composite of an excellent year: balancing marine-sediment soils in Ribbon Ridge–where Vincent prefers to use some stems–alongside mostly de-stemmed fruit from the Eola-Amity, including Zenith vineyard and young vines from the famed Temperance Hill. Aging in neutral barrique.
Temperance Hill Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills AVA 2022
~50-year-old own-rooted vines at high elevations (600-800 feet) in the red volcanic soils of this, one of the recognized Grand Cru of the Willamette Valley. With its textured and structurally compelling fruit, no stems were included in the ferment. Aging in neutral barrique.
