What the Flor Gruner Veltliner Milan Nestarec 2016

What the Flor Gruner Veltliner Milan Nestarec 2016, Natural Wine, 100% Gruner aged under Flor Yeast, stunning, complexity, balance and freshness, beautiful wine. When tasting this wine, you are struck by the creativity of the wine maker, Gruner Veltliner under Flor yeast from Czech Republic, how wild is that? But it works so supremely well, you kind of ask why haven;t they been doing for centuries. In fact, this wine typifies the beauty of the Natural Wine movement. The label tells you nothing, the wine conforms to no scripture, tradition or appellation, it is a creative young wine maker expressing his ideas and understanding of his land, grapes and wine making ability. The wine opens with a subtle but complex nose, light notes of citrus are definitely Gruner, but then there is Flor yeast complexity woven in. The palate is elegant, not over-powering and definitely not in any way oxidative. Texture and leesy character comes through, there is a refreshing bitterness to the wine and zippy acid. With some Jura cheese, it was superb but would work with firm fish, seafood and mushrooms. Superb, a definite Buon Vino favourite.

Milan Nestarec is the second generation of wine makers at this 8 hectare farm in Moravia, in the eastern Czech Republic. The vineyards are called Slovenské“ in Moravský Žižkov, Zadní hora“ in Velké Bílovice and Vinohrádky all loacted in the Hanacke Slovacko region and the cellar is in Velké Bílovice, (a bit tricky to say all that lot). His Father started the vineyard in 2001 and from the outset, they have farmed naturally and elaborated the wines with indigenous natural yeasts. Milan doesn't filter, fine or use very much sulphur. He is creative and makes wine according to his principles and creativity, not any rules or dogma. He is a member of the 'Autentiste' group - a community of wine makers who strive to express the true character of the land using natural methods. His wines are superb, full of character and drinkability but also style. They have a unique feel about them, maybe because the labels don't give anything away and Czech Republic wine is a rarity, so these bottles feel like something really different and also simply delicious.

'We are persuaded that natural methods of wine-growing and fermentation of grapes leads to the best results. Wine making is a craft which requires deep moral commitment. There is no place for falseness and every defect has consequences which we need to deal with afterwards. This work gives us the understanding of what nature is, and if we cannot listen and respect it we end up working against ourselves. Our wine mirrors our region and our point of view, wilful but not arrogant.' Milan Nestarec