Pet Nat from Germany that tastes exactly like you’d hope it would. It’s like those you already know and love from France, but racier, leaner and more bracing…fresher.
Two bottlings are on offer today from the brothers Brand: a white and a rosé. The white Pet Nat is half Silvaner and half Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and it clocks in at a mere 10% alcohol. It’s ultra-light and tastes like sea spray with bubbles, showing a fresh mineral core and unquestionable cut. The rosé is mostly Pinot Noir with 10% Portugieser and has only a mere 10.5% alcohol. After an initial burst of round, tart, juicy red fruit it finishes dry, clean and mineral with great focus.
We started working with Daniel and Jonas Brand last year. The brothers are causing something of a splash in the northern Pfalz, a region forgotten between the recent fame of the Rheinhessen (think Keller) and the old-school big-boned (high-alcohol) boys of the southern Pfalz. For both John and myself, they are one of our biggest discoveries and you are going to be hearing a lot more about them.
Last year we were late to the game and only got quantities of the “basic” dry Riesling and Weissburgunder. Both the “basics,” however, are tour-de-force wines that scream of their limestone origins. These wines are organic (will be certified vintage 2017) and retail about $15, for the damn liter!
Last year we missed the Pet Nats all together.
Not this year. We’ve put as big a hold on as much as we can and now begins the allocation process. To our knowledge these are among the first serious Pet Nats to come out of Germany and they are just bonkers. For more on the brothers, see below.
2016 Pet Nat: ~$30
2016 Pet Nat Rosé: ~$30
2016 Pet Nat MAGS: ~$74
2016 Pet Nat Rosé MAGS: ~$74
*all wines arrive early June*
Weingut Brand
The young brothers Daniel and Jonas Brand took over the family estate in 2011 and are part of a group in the Pfalz, Rheinhessen and Franken turning away from conventional farming and the sins of the 1960s and 70s. They are friends and colleagues with German winemakers Andreas Durst, Michael and Melanie of 2NaturKinder and Stefan Vetter and have looked beyond Germany as well for inspiration. Jonas just apprenticed at Domaine Jousset in Montlouis, as but one example. They have converted all of their vineyard work to organic and will be certified with vintage 2017. They are also working biodynamically, all fermentations are natural-yeast and low levels of sulfur are used when possible.