A brilliant entry point into understanding the style of Daniel Fries' Pinot Noir. It's all about the balance of whole bunches, oak and bright primary fruit. Juicy cherries and a blood orange tang are fantastically framed by gently tannin and laced with baking spices. It packs much more intrigue than your average entry level Pinot. Extreme value here and lip-smackingly fresh. Brilliant wine.
Nerdy Stuff
Producer: Daniel Fries
Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Mosel
Soil Type: Slate Rich Sand
Vintage: 2022
Alcohol: 13.0% ABV
Volume: 750ml
About Daniel Fries
Daniel is the 8th Generation of the Fries family who farm 8ha of vineyard in the village of Winningen, exclusively hand harvesting and without the use of herbicides. They farm a Riesling in 2 of the Grand Cru appellations of Uhlen and Rottgen, alongside one of the first estates in the Mosel to plant Pinot Noir in 1986.
Estate wine, which comes from steep vineyards at the foot of the hill, which we’re just able to farm by tractor (similarly to the estate Riesling). Also, most of the vines in this cuvée are a bit younger (12-15 years old). “Vom Schiefer” means “from slate”.
Winemaking
Handpicked and fermented in big open top containers (either stainless steel or oak cuve). 20% Whole Bunches. They stay ~3 weeks on skins and I believe in a long but very gentle extraction (mostly pumpovers, plus a few punch downs by hand). After pressing everything goes to barrel for 16 months (French oak, 20% new), and is bottled unfiltered.
