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| This week, we’re stoked to have Jess Kiefer of importer Jenny & Francois in the shop to host a tasting of the wines of Milan Nestarec. Jenny Lefcourt is a pioneering importer of natural wine and was among the first in the United States (perhaps the first) to take a chance on what was then a nascent movement. I have a long history of working with Jenny & Francois, and was the first to bring their wines to Los Angeles for my wine bar, back in 2006 (they didn’t have stock in California at that point, so I paid a the shipping charges to have cases of wine shipped from NY to Los Angeles—insane, to be sure, as I had no idea if the wines would find an audience here). There are many gems in her import portfolio, too many to try for a representative sampling. Given this, I thought it best to focus on a single grower rather than several, so we’re pouring wines from just one: the brilliant Czech grower, Milan Nestarec—you may have spotted his unassuming “Běl” liters on our shelves, and if you’ve tried this wine, IYKYK.
Nestarec was handed the reins of his family’s winery at the tender age of 16, when he was still in winemaking school. Nestarec’s father had wrested back a tiny plot of his family’s land that the Soviet authorities had confiscated, reluctantly doled out as restitution after the lifting of the Iron Curtain. The Nestareces slowly purchased additional plots, and the first commercial release of Nestarec wines was in 2001. The early wines were commercial bulk wines, but Nestarec soon connected with a small group of growers in the Czech Republic, Italy, and Germany who were farming without synthetic chemicals and making their wines without adjuvants, and by 2008 began to follow suit. In 2009, Nestarec fermented his wines without any additions, using only wild yeast. One of the things I appreciate about Nestarec is that he constantly tweaks things and pushes himself to make each vintage a little more delicious—today, the resulting wines are extremely delightful. Here’s what we’re pouring, four of which are 1-liter bottles (the more, the merrier): Hedonista Solera blend of multiple vintages. Mostly grüner, with some neuberger and welschriesling. Three days of maceration, then aging in a huge old barrel. Ruz Růžová means “pink” in Czech. Short macerated rosé of blaufränkisch and zweigelt, fermented in stainless, and aged in stainless and old barrel. 1 liter bottle. Nach Nach means “purple” in old Czech. Juicy, light blend of blaufränkisch, pinot noir, and zweigelt. No added sulfites. 1 liter bottle. Běl Běl means “white” in old Czech. Zero maceration blend of grüner veltliner, welschriesling, and müller-thurgau. 1 liter bottle. Okr Okr means “ochre” in Czech. Whole bunches of grapes macerate in their own juices for a few days before pressing. Blend of grüner veltliner, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, gewürztraminer, pálava—1 liter bottle. |