Donor: Vincent Fritzsche
Value: $285
MinBidIncr: $10
Auction Closes: 8pm PT
A trio of 1.5L magnums from the classic 2017 vintage:
- 2017 Vincent Chardonnay Willamette Valley “Tardive”
- 2017 Vincent Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills
- 2017 Vincent Pinot Noir Armstrong Vineyard
The 2017 vintage in the Willamette Valley is one of my all time favorites.
Note - this is not a universal opinion, especially with the famously ripe 2016 and rich 2018 vintages bookending things. But in our cellar, this was a stellar year.
Why do I love 2017?
For one, the wines have so much finesse and subtle power. The summer of 2017 was hot but the growing season started a bit late and we harvested in the cool, misty days of early October, more like the old days in Oregon.
The wines show the beautiful fruit of a warm year but then are delicately framed by the freshness of a cooler season. It’s the best of both worlds.
Our Chardonnay
“Tardive” was aged 18 months on lees in barrel, the grapes mostly the old 108 clone that gives a mealy, classic Chard that ages well. This wine is drinking fabulously but in no danger of decline any time soon.
Our Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills
A blend of barrels from a few vineyards in this AVA: Silvershot, Zenith, Bjornson and a bit from the older vines at Temperance Hill. We make a strict selection of the barrels that go into each single vineyard bottling, blending the rest into this AVA cuvee and declassifying lesser barrels to our entry level Willamette Valley cuvee. Fresh red fruits and earthy, clay notes, drink this now or over the next few years.
Finally our Pinot Noir Armstrong Vineyard
Our top selection from the highly prized Ribbon Ridge AVA. Warmer red fruits and darjeeling tea notes, with a soft structure that helps the wine linger so long on the palate. All Dijon clone Pinot Noir here, a mix of plant material from Armstrong that’s the home vineyard for Doug and Michele Ackerman of Red Electric Wines. Drink now or hold 5-10 more years at least. The beauty of the 17s is their early approachability with sneaky age-ability if you’re not in a hurry.