Daniel Twardowski Pinot Noix Ardoise Mosel 2022

Critical Acclaim: 97 pts James Suckling, 94 pts Vinous

About the Winery: Daniel Twardowski is a Mosel wine merchant turned winemaker based in Neumagen-Dhron. His Pinot Noix project is one of Germany’s most compelling Pinot Noir stories, taking Burgundy-minded Pinot and placing it on the steep slate slopes of the Dhroner Hofberg. The result is Pinot Noir with Mosel lift, spice, and mineral tension.

About the Wine: Pinot Noix Ardoise is Twardowski’s flagship Pinot Noir from the Dhroner Hofberg. In 2005, Twardowski began working with old Riesling vines, cutting them back and grafting Pinot Noir cuttings from Burgundy, including material from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) and Domaine Ponsot. The wine is made from hand-sorted fruit, fermented spontaneously with native yeasts in open tanks, moved by gravity, unfiltered, and aged about 17 to 18 months in French barrels. “Ardoise” means slate, and that is exactly the point here: Pinot Noir with red-fruited finesse, smoky spice, and a long slate-driven finish.

Tasting Notes: Floral and precise, with red cherry, wild strawberry, sour cherry, lavender, fine spice, smoke, and flint. The palate is sleek, concentrated, and energetic, with silky tannins, vibrant acidity, and a long mineral finish. Elegant, but not fragile.

" A swirling cloud of smoke and flint on the nose, but that’s just the entrance to this truly extraordinary pinot noir. Enormous concentration is packed into the sleek silhouette and lithe body of this astonishing Mosel pinot noir. Then comes the breathtakingly vibrant, slatey finish that suggests this has enormous aging potential. Drink from release." - James Suckling

Serving Suggestion: Pair with roast duck, wild salmon, lamb, mushroom dishes, and dishes with earthy herbs. Serve slightly cool and give it 20 to 30 minutes of air.

Varietal: Pinot Noir.