It seems, honestly, a bit crazy that it was only with the 2016 vintage that the brothers Brand (Daniel and Jonas, the latter photo’d above) made their first Pet-Nats.
They have quickly become, not iconic, but sorta “cool climate fundamentals.” They stand out and have gained an amazing following in what is a very crowded market – which is so rad. If there is a more ultralight, delicate, salty and delicious Pet-Nat out there, we haven’t tasted it. With mumblings and rumors about how great the 2019 vintage is, well, these wines are poised to perhaps be the best Pet-Nats they have ever made. Though I have to take their word on it, as I didn’t get to go to Germany this spring.
The “Wildersatz,” or wild things, is the leanest, meanest, saltiest orange wine in the category – featherweight yet razor sharp.
Just three wines on offer today, see details below. Quantities at the estate seem pretty good for the moment, so go crazy.
To order email orders@vomboden.com and we’ll connect you with a retail shop near you. These are due to arrive in mid-late July.
2019 Brand Pet-Nat Blanc ~$29/retail
2019 Brand Pet-Nat Blanc Magnum (6 x 1.5L) ~$72/retail
The brothers Brand write: “The Pet-Nat blanc has that early super-freshness: granny smith apple, brioche, good mix of minerality and fruit. The CO2 is very delicate and less sharp than you would expect; you can compare it with a Champagne which was five years on the full lees (less bubbles and just the CO2). It also has a good amount of acidity this year, kind of reminds me of vintage 2016 in the beginning and, yeah, that great salty taste is also back. Varieties for the white are again 60% Pinot Blanc, 40% Sylvaner.”
2019 Brand Pet-Nat Rosé ~$29/retail
2019 Brand Pet-Nat Rosé Magnum (6 x 1.5L) ~$72/retail
The brothers Brand write: “As for the Rosé, our plan of doing less maceration to lower tannins in the warmer years totally worked out – we did only 2 days whole bunch maceration instead of 3. The finished wine is much more crisp than the vintage before and reminds us a little of rhubarb juice with hints of watermelon. The Rosé is a little more cloudy than last year, the idea is to balance out the higher acidity with some more lees and also to get more stability as the lees can protect the wine naturally. Varieties are 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Portugieser.”
2019 Brand “Wildersatz” ~$26/retail
This is the brothers Brand’s version of a “field blend;” a super-delicate, ultra-fresh white with more varieties than you can shake a stick at and more complexity than most natty orange wines at twice the price. This is lean, mineral, chalky and cutting, with a garden’s range of aromatics from dried hay and flowers to soil and stones, normally accompanied by an oceanic minerality and saltiness. Basically this is the natural wine version of surf and turf.