Enderle & Moll
winemakers: Florian Moll, Géraldine Moll,
Manfred Enderle, Maxence Lecat
organic biodynamic wild yeasts non-filtré
country: Germany
appellation: Baden (Ortenau)
village: Münchweier
main vineyards: Kirchhalden
summary: This estate is really just two guys, a tiny cellar, a few hectares of
old vines and a hell of a lot of buzz – even Jancis Robinson has called them “cult.” What you can say with certainty is that Florian Moll, along with his partner Géraldine, Manfred Enderle and Frenchman Maxence Lecat, fly in the face of just about every conventional estate in Baden. Farming some of the oldest vines in Baden the team crafts complex, earthy and superbly detailed Pinot Noirs that will completely redefine how you view German reds, to say nothing of their stunningly textural yet buoyant and defined skin-contact white wines. They are one of the first German red wine producers to emphasize lightness, transparency, finesse. They are the benchmark producer for natural, Burgundy-esque German Pinot Noir, period, end. The white wines, though a small part of their production, are revelations in skin-contact whites; transparent and energetic. Farming is organic/biodynamic, no additives, no filters, minimal sulfur.
size: Around 5.5 hectares with a small amount of purchased fruit. All fruit, both estate and purchased, is farmed organically.
key grape varieties: Pinot Noir is the main focus at Enderle & Moll, yet the two have shown a great touch with Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder, Müller-Thurgau and more.
soil: limestone (Muschelkalk), sandstone (Buntsandstein) and loess
vine age: 30 to 60+ years, depending on cuvee (see below, “red wines”)
vineyard work: Absolutely no use of insecticides/pesticides; demeter-approved spraying for fungus with minimal copper use (1/3 amount as allowed by organic certifications), minimal plowing, excess vegetation is trimmed, otherwise the soil is left alone. All vineyard work and harvesting is done by hand.
vinification: All wines are pressed in a small basket press. Maceration lasts 2-3 weeks for red wines and up to 2 weeks for white wines. For vintage 2020 there was 50-70% whole cluster fermentations for the reds. The white wines are destemmed and normally see some skin contact, 2-3 days for the basic ‘Müller’ and up to a week for the Grauburgunder and Weisßburgunder with further contact with a portion of skins for the full elevage. All fermentations are with natural yeasts – no yeasts, yeast nutrients or enzymes are added, ever. Most wines are fermented in 300 to 1,500 liter tanks/barrels. The reds are fermented in one-year-old barrels from Burgundy. Enderle & Moll uses them for 2-5 years before retiring them. Minimal use of sulfur (25-40mg/l) at bottling only; all wines are bottled without fining or filtering.
red wines:
Pinot Noir “Basis” – 30-year-old vines on sandstone, limestone and loess soils
Pinot Noir “Liason” – 50-year-old vines on sandstone and limestone
Pinot Noir Grand Cru “Muschelkalk” – 60+ year-old vines on solid limestone soils
Pinot Noir Grand Cru “Buntsandstein – 60-year-old vines on colored sandstone
Pinot Noir Grand Cru “Buntsandstein Ida” – a tiny single-vineyard owned previously by Ida; 50+ year-old vines on colored sandstone Pinot Noir Grand Cru “Pinot a Trois” – the top selections from the top sites; normally one barrel produced in good vintages only
white wines:
Müller-Thurgau “Müller” – blend of young-vine Müller-Thurgau from Baden and Mosel
“Weiss & Grau” – Weissburgunder and Grauburgunder blend with a few days maceration
Müller-Thurgau “Pur” – 45-year-old vines on limestone and sandstone
Müller-Thurgau “Buntsandstein” – 40-year-old vines on sandstone from a tiny 0.15 parcel
Grauburgunder - 45-year-old vines on limestone and sandstone
Weissburgunder “Muschelkalk” - 60-year old vines on limestone
Auxerrois - 30-year old vines from a tiny 0.3 ha parcel
Spätburgunder Rosé - 50-year old vines with a shorter maceration time of less than a week, and elevage in barrel
