Riesling Mosel 'Der Graf' Philip Lardot 2021
ArtisanalThe "Der Graf" is a Riesling produced by Philip Lardot, from the Moselle region. Fermented thanks to indigenous yeasts, it is produced by leaving a third of the grapes with whole bunches in steel tanks. It is then left to age for one year in barrique which gives it the complexity, elegance and roundness we find in the sip.
The splendid context of the Moselle gives us the Riesling Der Graf by Philip Lardot, an artisanal white that deviates from the usual standards of the type. A disciple of Ulrich Stein, a historic and iconic producer of the Region, Philip cultivates his vineyards with the utmost respect for nature and its balances, performing all operations manually and without the use of synthetic chemical products. But what strikes the most, as it goes against the trend of almost all producers in the Moselle, is the choice to allow spontaneous malolactic fermentation on all wines, in order to round them out and add expressive breadth.
Philip Lardot Mosel Der Graf is produced from only Riesling grapes coming from a tiny vineyard of 0.2 hectares with vines about 30 years old. The exposure is full east and the soil consists of the typical slate. Following the manual harvest, the grapes undergo spontaneous alcoholic fermentation in steel tanks, with 1/3 of the grapes in whole clusters. The malolactic fermentation is not blocked and the wine matures for about one year in barrique before bottling and the subsequent resting period in the bottle.
To the eye, the Riesling Mosel Der Graf, the first label of Philip Lardot, expresses an attractive straw yellow hue, while on the nose it offers sweet notes of ginger, apricot, pear, and lavender that blend with the mineral vein. The taste is complex and elegant, in remarkable balance between velvety softness and pleasant freshness. A Riesling that is rounder compared to its “brothers” from the area, a personal interpretation of a young and talented producer who wants to write a new chapter in German winemaking.