Enderle & Moll 2009 Baden Pinot Noir Villages
Miniscule production Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) from Germany's relatively warm region of Baden. Lying just to the east of Alsace, Baden may be warm for Germany, but it's still decidedly a rather cool climate. While global climate change is generally upending accepted notions of what grapes grow well where, the red wine industry in Germany has been perhaps the greatest beneficiary of this rather dubious development. Pinot Noir wines that were once thin and green now can be properly ripe, well balanced and delicately finessed.
Enderle & Moll is a two-man operation and they farm just 2-hectares, employing biodynamic methods and a hands-off approach in the cellar. The "Villages" is a step up from their base-level Pinot Noir which we last offered in the 2008 vintage, and comes from better sites and older vines. They raise the wine in used barrels from Burgundy and the oak is tastefully integrated. They use a rather old basket press, bottle without filtering and the result is a singular approach to Pinot Noir, especially within Germany. In the glass the wine looks ever so slightly cloudy, and the aromas are earthy, savory, smoky and dark fruited. On the palate the wine is nuanced, with cherry and cranberry notes and just a touch of vanilla. Fans of Burgundy who are getting turned off by the scarcity, high prices and high ripeness of top wines from the area ought to look into this an alternative. -jfr
