2022 Daniel Fries Pinot Noir "vom Schiefer" 
2022 Daniel Fries Pinot Noir "Terrassen" 
2022 Daniel Fries Pinot Noir Grand Cru "Dom" 

I first heard about Daniel Fries from a good friend who lives in the Mosel. It was a few years ago and his name came up in a very casual discussion about how Mosel Pinot Noir had become, almost overnight, something of a force.

She said to me only: "The wines are really, really good... and really fairly priced."

Robert meanwhile had also heard of Fries; he in fact went and saw him on the recommendation of the truly gifted Mosel winemaker, Julien Renard.

Suffice it to say, Daniel's wines are making something of an impact on the Mosel scene, at least to those paying attention.

Anyway, I made it a point to go visit him later that year. It was hardly an effort: Fries lives in Winningen, one of my favorite villages in the Mosel with what are easily (outside of the Bremmer Calmont about a half-hour further upstream) the most dramatic, truly mind-boggling vineyards in all of the Mosel and probably all of Europe.

This is the "Terrassen-Mosel," a name it gets for obvious reasons. The picture above - dramatic as it is - does not do the severity of the inclines, nor the narrow scale of the terraces, justice.

As a simple moral proposition, part of me wants to suggest that the fact that *any* bottle of wine can come from this place as low as this one mandates that we should all have to buy at least one bottle... simply to keep this culture of extreme and improbable human endeavors alive.

The fact that even the basic Pinot is absolutely seamless, beautifully balanced and delicious makes the proposition less moral and more hedonistic. A win-win for all involved.

Daniel's most basic Pinot (from the more difficult 2021 vintage) got a rave review from the scholars at Mosel Fine Wines who wrote: "The wine is also beautifully fresh on the palate, with crisp and tangy fruits. It proves rather light, giving it finesse and a touch of drinkability. The finish is more focused, however, with tannins still present and very spicy. The length is superb and the wine finishes very straight." 

This is serious praise. Yet it's more impressive when you consider that the 2022 is a better wine.

For myself, I am cautiously blown away (if that's a phrase I can employ?) with Daniel's wines. Cautious because his first vintage was only 2019 and we are still at the beginning of what will be a long story. But I can say that it's been a joy to taste with Daniel Fries and to watch and taste his development. I've now visited two times and tasted widely over three vintages. He is quiet, sensitive, thoughtful. There is obvious ambition here - you can taste it - but also a certain recognition that this will be hard work - that this is hard work - and there just aren't any real shortcuts.

And that I suppose takes me to the "blown away" part.

Daniel's wines are simply everything you could want them to be. They are Pinot Noir... but more than that they are Pinot Noir from the Mosel. More than that: They are Pinot Noir from the Terrassen-Mosel - and this is very exciting.

They have a certain density to them; they are meaty and coating in certain ways, with a delicate touch of new French oak that gives them fine layers of spice and a really lovely herbal complexity. Fries worked at de Montille in Meursault and their work with whole-cluster and new wood was influential, as was his time at Lingua Franca in Oregon. Here, winemaker Thomas Savre, who had previously worked at both DRC and Dujac, was another strong proponent of whole-cluster to create a multidimensional texture.

If this sort of luxuriousness is often not really my thing, Fries' touch is superb: The wines prove to be seamless, perfectly proportioned with great acids and firm structures. They are textural, yet they have force and definition.

In the stellar 2022 Pinot vintage, these are truly triumphant wines, exuberant and expressive.

As you move up the quality ladder the wines see more whole-cluster fermentation and a bit more new oak. For the "vom Schiefer" (meaning "from slate") the wine has about 20% whole-cluster and sees only used French oak. The "Terrassen," sourced exclusively from vines about 25 years old on the terraces, we have about 30% whole-cluster and 20% new oak. Finally, the single-vineyard "Dom" comes from a parcel of 25-year-old vines at the very top of the cliff, about 300 feet above the Mosel. As such it is windy and the Pinots that come from this place are the most concentrated and herbal. In the "Dom" we have 40% whole-cluster and about 40% new wood. 

This is only the 2nd vintage of Fries' Grand Cru "Dom" - I have the feeling it marks a very special moment for the Mosel Pinot Noir, and for Terrassen-Mosel Pinot Noir. 

Be the first in the U.S. to try these wines, to experience the red Terrassen-Mosel. You'll be hearing more about Daniel Fries in the months and years ahead. Just remember you heard it here first.

2022 Daniel Fries Pinot Noir "vom Schiefer" 
We are including all of the 2021 Mosel Fine Wines reviews as we feel they add more context and depth. As a general rule, the 2022 vintage is considered more powerful and ripe - honestly one of the better Pinot vintages in the history of Germany. Mosel Fine Wines has not yet published their notes on the 2022 Fries wines.


"The 2021er Pinot Noir vom Schiefer comes from 15-year-old vines and was made from stemmed fruit harvested in a steep south-east facing part of the Winninger Domgarten. It was fermented and aged in used barrique for 16 months before being bottled unfiltered. Cherry-red in color with lovely transparency, the nose shows a superb aromatic range with lots of fresh, tart red fruits, notably burlat cherry, raspberry, and blueberry, with a smoky edge and a hint of élevage still noticeable. The wine is also beautifully fresh on the palate, with crisp and tangy fruits. It proves rather light, giving it finesse and a touch of drinkability. The finish is more focused, however, with tannins still present and very spicy. The length is superb and the wine finishes very straight. This fine Pinot needs a few years to come into its own" Mosel Fine Wines, No. 69, March 2024

2022 Daniel Fries Pinot Noir "Terrassen" 
We are including all of the 2021 Mosel Fine Wines reviews as we feel they add more context and depth. As a general rule, the 2022 vintage is considered more powerful and ripe - honestly one of the better Pinot vintages in the history of Germany. Mosel Fine Wines has not yet published their notes on the 2022 Fries wines.


"The 2021er Terrassen Pinot Noir comes from 20-25-year-old vines and was made from de-stemmed fruit harvested in the Winninger Domgarten. It was fermented and aged in used barrique for 16 months before being bottled unfiltered. The first nose is still very closed, revealing almost nothing but smoky notes and a hint of herbal and even vegetal elements. With a little airing, aromas of bramble, black cherry, tar, licorice, sandalwood, black pepper, and clove emerge. The wine is straightforward and taut on the palate, with intense acid fruits (including red currant, fresh cherry, and raspberry) and plenty of spices. The finish is incredibly dynamic and intense. The tannins are still present, but are already very fine. This Pinot will need a few years to develop all its complexity and integrate its elements, but the potential is quite phenomenal." Mosel Fine Wines, No. 69, March 2024

2022 Daniel Fries Pinot Noir "Dom" 
We are including all of the 2021 Mosel Fine Wines reviews as we feel they add more context and depth. As a general rule, the 2022 vintage is considered more powerful and ripe - honestly one of the better Pinot vintages in the history of Germany. Mosel Fine Wines has not yet published their notes on the 2022 Fries wines.


"The 2021er Dom Pinot Noir (the first vintage of this wine) comes from 25-year-old vines from a Burgundy massale selection and was made from 90% de-stemmed fruit harvested in an east facing, hilltop section of the Winninger Domgarten. It was fermented and aged in used barrique for 16 months before being bottled unfiltered. Rather reserved on opening, the nose develops superb complexity with lots of spices, violet, blackberry, smoke, licorice, black cherry, and a fine touch of sandalwood. The palate has a lovely feel, with fresh fruits and a hint of juiciness (with cassis and blackberry cream). The finish has good density and tightness, with tannins still present, slightly powerful and on black pepper. This Pinot, dense and well structured, is impressive and will need a few years to fully shine." Mosel Fine Wines, No. 69, March 2024

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