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  • April 23, 2013
  • Enderle & Moll 2011 Pinot Noir Liaison

  • by Lars Carlberg

liaison_enderle_moll_2011As I mentioned in my comment on March 30, I last tasted a pre-bottling sample of Enderle & Moll’s 2011 Pinot Noir Liaison. The wine has since been bottled and tastes similar to my first impression.

It has about 13.5% alcohol with notes of herbs and spices. I tasted this bottle over three days and it got better each night. "The 2011 Pinots are the most powerful wines that we've made since now," Florian Moll says. Despite the higher ripeness levels in this vintage, Sven Enderle says that they lightly chaptalized the wines. In retrospect, he wishes that they didn't. Nevertheless, the wines aren't over-alcoholic.

Besides "cherry, mints, and violets," Florian describes a nose of "earthy notes (undergrowth, leaves, forest floor)," too. On the palate, he finds "forest aromas (underbrush, pine cones), licorice, coffee, and caramel."

"[It's ]quite powerful," he says. Yet the wine shows its class and has some of the aromas and flavors that one finds in the wines of the Rhône Valley. Although the structure is more northern Rhône. When I asked Florian, why the emblem had a purple color now, he said that the graphic designer made an error. Yet I like it. Sven said that they do, too.

Over the years, it's been a struggle for Florian and Sven to make ends meet as winegrowers, but they've made some of my favorite German Spätburgunders, such as the 2007 Buntsandstein or 2008 Pinot Noir. On their corks, Enderle & Moll has the words "Rien Sans Peine," which roughly translates to "nothing can be had for nothing." ♦

  • Andrew Bair says:

    Lars –

    Thank you for the interesting note. Enderle & Moll was the one of your former MWM estates whose wines I never had the chance to try. Aside from a couple of white Pinots from Dr. Heger, I haven’t seen much from Baden in the Boston area.
    Anyway, having read both this note, as well as your profile of Enderle & Moll: are they strictly focused on Spätburgunder, or do they grow other varieties as well? Not that I’m any expert on individual sites in Baden, but the Ortenau does have some reputation for Riesling (see Laible).

    • You’re welcome, Andrew. I’m glad you liked my short write-up. Enderle & Moll produces mainly Pinot Noir, but they do have Müller-Thurgau. Speaking of labels, I like their design for the Pinot Noirs but also Müller.

      Unfortunately, I’ve yet to taste a Riesling from Laible.

  • Lyle Fass says:

    Lars, you gotta taste Laible!

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