Vincent
Willamette Valley
Oregon
3 wines $25
Vincent
Nestled in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, just 35 miles southwest of Portland, Vincent Winery has quietly become one of the most respected small producers of cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in America. Founded in 2009 by winemaker Vincent Fritzsche, the estate began with a single leased acre in the Eola-Amity Hills and has grown deliberately—never exceeding 1,800 cases annually—to preserve obsessive attention to detail.
Vincent’s philosophy is simple and uncompromising: make transparent, site-specific wines that speak clearly of where they’re grown. He farms organically (uncertified, because paperwork is the enemy of progress), uses only native yeasts, and avoids new oak almost entirely. The results are Pinots of startling purity—bright red fruit, crushed flowers, forest floor, and a saline thread that makes them electrifying at the table.
Vincent’s vineyards read like a who’s-who of great Willamette sites: Armstrong Vineyard, Bjornson, Nemarniki, and the legendary Zenith Vineyard (home to some of the oldest Pinot Noir plantings in the valley). Vincent farms many of these parcels himself or works in long-term relationships with growers who share his low-intervention ethos. Cover crops, dry farming, and hand harvesting are non-negotiable. He is obsessively organic, severing relationships with certified organic farms because although certified, he felt they could be doing more (or really…doing less and letting nature speak for itself).
What sets Vincent apart in a region full of talented winemakers is the almost Burgundian transparency he achieves. These are not “New World” fruit bombs; they are wines of tension, fragrance, and quiet intensity that improve dramatically with a few years in bottle (or a 30-minute decant if you can’t wait). That being said, he is inherently Oregon - he is not trying to imitate Burgundy, just draw from their practices. Critics agree: recent vintages have scored 94–96 points from Vinous and Wine Spectator, yet prices remain shockingly reasonable for the quality.
The Line Up
2023 Chardonnay Willamette Valley “Tardive”
A rare late-harvest experiment from Vincent Fritzsche, “Tardive” was picked November 8—weeks after the regular Chardonnay blocks—reaching full phenolic ripeness with 14.2% potential alcohol yet retaining razor-sharp acidity. Sourced from dry-farmed, own-rooted vines at in Eola Amity Hills and Chehalem, grapes were whole-cluster pressed, fermented with native yeasts for 2 hours into old barrels, and then aged 14 months sur lie, and then goes through full malolactic fermentation. The result: brilliant gold, explosive aromas of quince, yellow plum, honeysuckle, and wet chalk; rich yet electric on the palate with a saline, grapefruit-pith finish that defies its ripeness.
2023 Gamay Noir Willamette Valley
This vibrant, Gamay from the Eola-Amity Hills and Chehalem Mountains bursts with juicy red-cherry, wild strawberry, and pomegranate, laced with cracked black pepper and crushed violet. Fermented roughly 20% whole-cluster with native yeast, it retains Gamay’s signature bright crunch while picking up a distinctly Oregonian mineral streak and cool-climate tension. Light-bodied yet intensely flavorful, with silky tannins and mouthwatering acidity, it’s a perfect chillable red for everything from Thanksgiving turkey to weeknight pizza. Only 450 cases produced—pure, joyful, and unmistakably Willamette Valley.
2023 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
From the same windswept Eola-Amity Hills, this Pinot Noir is a masterclass in restraint and energy. Partially from the esteemed Ribbon Ridge, which has higher tannins, he keeps the stems included on the grapes from Ribbon Ridge to increase transparency, while destemming the rest of the fruit. This lends to a bright, stemmy lift and fine-grained structure, while the cool vintage delivers laser-focused acidity and silky, persistent tannins. Radiant black cherry, red plum, and wild raspberry weave with rose petal, damp earth, and a whisper of baking spice. Ethereal yet deeply flavorful, it’s built to evolve beautifully but already sings with roast chicken or mushroom risotto. 575 cases made.