2021 Milan Nestarec 'Nach' Red Blend Moravia Czech Republic 1L

Winemaker Notes: Moravia, my home, has the perfect conditions for making light-bodied, fun reds with good acidity. This unpretentious "rural realness" used to be the traditional style here, and I’ve been drinking and loving wines like this since I was a kid. Obviously, our region also had to go through the craze of new oak barrels, de-acidifiers, tannins and all the other BS covering the sense of place in our wines, when the Czech Republic opened its borders after 1989. But I wanted to put the normal, juicy Moravian red, based on our signature Blaufrankisch grape, back in the spotlight. So voila Nach, named after its colour (= purple in Czech).

“Milan Nestarec is not a winery. Nestarec is ideas that just happen to be represented through wine,” reads one of the first lines on this Moravian prodigy’s captivating website. It is a fitting description: first, because the sheer diversity and dynamism of Nestarec cuvées reflect the centrifuge in his head (“my colleagues must sometimes hate me and my constant chorus of “can’t we do it better / differently?” he admits with a chuckle). Secondly, because there’s a gradual development of Nestarec wines towards more precision and “essence over style”, which absolutely reflects the winemaker’s personal journey – and it’s quite a fascinating story to follow. (And drink.)