Enderle & Moll
"I'm a free man and I do what I want to do, and so we are a free winery." - Sven Enderle
I think this is a very apt summary of the work of Enderle & Moll; founded on a collective opposition to the commercial winemaking practices of the Baden region. Sven Enderle and Florian Moll came together in 2007 after working separately for a variety of producers, and despite the pervasive trend of farming for high yields, as cheaply and easily as possible, they sought out older, very low-yielding wines of incredible concentration, and chose to revive them without the use of synthetic treatments. The prevailing preference in their native land of Germany is for Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) to be made in a highly-extracted, powerful, oak-driven style, and their approach could not be more opposite. You could say that their wines are more Burgundian in nature, but the truth is, that is not their intention either. Their mission is to produce wines that speak to the terroir of Baden, just as they are; nothing added, nothing taken away.
The Enderle & Moll Pinot Noir's closely resemble those of Alsace, pale and energetic, as the foothills of the Black Forest are just a jump across the Rhine River. Like Alsace, Baden is the warmest, sunniest region in Germany and as such, it became more popular for red grapes like Spätburgunder than for Riesling, though they do also cultivate a bit of Müller-Thurgau, Auxerrois, and Pinot Gris. Sven and Florian have elected to work with some of the oldest Pinot Noir vines in Baden; dating as far back as the 1950’s. It’s not just the age of the vines that make these wines so compelling, it’s also the soil composition. While many of the plots are sandstone based, the land south of Münchweier is actually lined with shell-limestone as you find in some of the world’s best sites. As well, these vineyards are incredibly steep, which allows for better drainage and forces the vines to dig deep; it also means nearly everything must be done by hand.
Finally able to follow their own conscience, the team farms everything organically with biodynamic practices. Though they may be considered “low-intervention” winemakers, they are very much hands on. Their approach has been to assess each plot and vine according to its own peculiarities and “do justice to [them] through extensive vineyard work”. According to Sven and Florian their work is never static and they are constantly learning and improving, which has led to their wines getting better and better with each vintage. It seems the world is finally starting to take notice of their hard work, and with such small quantities of their single-vineyard bottling these wines will not go unclaimed for long! If you're not ready to commit to the top wines, but would still like to get a taste of their stellar vineyard work and terroir-expressive style, try the charming Pinot Noir 'Basis,' or their “village-level” Pinot Noir ‘Liason.’ Missing from today's email are the fascinating whites and skin contact wines they produce in small quantity (coming later this year!), but for a perfect summer quaffer, try their easy-drinking Müller-Thurgau, ‘Müller.' ** Just added 6/22, we also are getting 2018 Weiss and Grau - too early for a tasting note, but we'll include it in the offer here.
-Michelle DeWyngaert
