Bel 100cl, Milan Nestarec 2021

When summarizing Milan’s work we would like to start by quoting our dear friend Marko Kovac, cofounder of Central Europe’s most respected Salon - Karakterre: 'There really should be a division to BMC and AD in the Czech Republic. That’s Before Milan Nestarec & Anno Domini. Not to say that he is the reincarnation of Christ. But he did show the way for many who today make Eastern Europe one of the world’s most exciting & vibrant wine regions. Milan's name is on many of grower’s lips there. (To the point that “like Nestarec” really should become Moravia dictionary’s proper entry). 

Yet, what does it really mean to be Nestarec...as Milan himself is changing and now coming to a phase of greater than ever precision & elegance of wines. Plus, the dedication to pure low intervention wines is undisputed here. Now taken to the next level, one where the winegrower himself is growing up & with the best vintages still to come. Milan's latest releases from 2017 and 2018 are yet another impressive showcase how hard work in the vineyard combined with a great deal of patience (his wines spent at least two winters and one full summer in the cellar for the main cuvées, making all the difference for minimum intervention wines to showcase a great deal of terroir and quality without the use of SO2). Even though to this date Milan works with a variety of Czech and Austrian varieties, his style has become a style of his own giving varieties like Neuburger (in his TRBLMKR) and Grüner Veltliner a completely different direction, yet making them somewhat future classics of Central Europe.

This wine embodies my unassuming Moravian roots. Made with "common" local grapes (Gruner Veltliner, Welschriesling, and a lot of Muller, because Muller from old vines is just dope) that always used to be blended together for an everyday wine. (Gewurztraminer being the fancy Sunday-kinda-wine). It's only logical - these varieties don't overripe easily, so the wine is low in alcohol and easy to drink. They also have higher yields, so you can get more quantity. And they're neutral, so there are no intense aromatics to annoy you while drinking. In short, an ideal combination for a wine that's drunk in masses by the masses. A wine made in a very classical way, no maceration, just gentle press and then aging in stainless steel and neutral oak.

Producer Milan Nestarec

Origin Moravia, Czech Republic

Grapes Gruner Veltliner, Welschriesling, Muller Thurgau, Gewurztraminer

Alcohol 13% ABV

Style Medium body natural white

Bottle size 1000ml

Winemaking Manual harvested, direct press gentle press, spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and in neutral old barrels. Unfiltred, Unfined, Mininal So2 added.

Notes Natural, Organic, Biodynamic