The brothers Brand have finished their whirlwind tour through Chicago and New York (the photo above, from LA, was a few years ago).
Now it’s time to offer some wines – scroll down for full lineup and prices.
(And especially note the mags because they are well priced)
The Pet-Nat needs no (or only a small) introduction: literally a benchmark wine (Brands made the first Pet-Nat in Germany), this is one of the clearest, cleanest, most precise and light-weight Pet-Nats out there. Salty and citrus-driven, you’ll go crazy trying to figure out how a wine grown in the middle of Germany can taste so much like the damn ocean. About 60% Pinot Blanc and 40% Silvaner; A FEW MAGS ARE IN STOCK NOW AND WILL BE SOLD FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED!
Next, the Brand’s take on an Austrian “Gemischter Satz,” the “Wilder Satz” (translates to “wild things”) is the gateway drug into their sulfur-free “Pur” line. A blend of seven different white grape varieties, blended and bottled unfiltered, unfined and with no added sulfur, this is the ultimate orange wine. Some texture and density, yet buoyant and clean, salty and refreshing. MAGNUMS available, at only the tiniest of mark ups!
The 2018 Cider is available in a bit more quantity this year, so it’s cool to be able to offer a bit. It is only delicately disgorged, and so carries a good amount of the lees, just so you know. It’s a bit cloudy in presentation. Still, the overall effect is elegant and lifted. And the pricing is ridiculous. Grab some now – will arrive June/July.
Finally, a very personal wine for us that flaunts the potentials of Germany – the 2016 Cabernet Franc “Pur.” We fell in love with this wine a year ago and were only offered a bit. We sold it pretty easily to a few trusting friends. We cracked one last week, blind, next to a 2013 Clos Rougeard “Clos.” It’s a cheap stunt, which was not intended to come off as such. I just really wanted to see how the two wines would compare. The Brand Cab Franc was a bit broader, deeper and showing better to me, and I think most of the group (at least at the moment), than the Clos Rougeard. The point is NOT that the Brand is a better wine; the point is the two wines were not unreasonably paired; the context for both wines was appropriate. Anyway, based on all my damn love of this wine, the brothers are going to release a few cases from their library in Germany, so let us know if you want any. I’ll say two things: 1) it’s not inexpensive and 2) it’s worth it.
2018 Pet Nat Blanc: ~$30 retail june arrival
2018 Pet Nat Blanc MAGS: ~$74 retail
PET-NAT MAGS IN STOCK NOW!!!
2018 Wildersatz: ~$25 retail june arrival
2018 Wildersatz MAGS: ~$55 retail july arrival
2018 Cider: ~$20 retail july arrival
2016 Cabernet Franc “Pur” – ~$70 retail july arrival