Milan Nestarec - Umami -2022 - 13,5% - Achtele Field Blend - regio Moravia
UMAMI 2022
Uber Mega Aromatic Master of Indulgence.
I just made that up.
“Teach us to care and not to care.”
A verse from T.S. Eliot’s 1930 poem Ash Wednesday, and a fitting motto for our 2022 vintage. The year I became even more aware that winemaking means focusing all your energy on what you can influence, and letting go of what you can’t. This approach allows us to create wines that are precise and solid, yet unforced and genuine — a seeming contradiction that defines these 2022s.
Abundant sunshine throughout the growing season ranks this vintage among the very warm and dry ones. A very mild winter was followed by an early spring with rapid growth. May and June saw no dramatic fluctuations which allowed for even flowering and grape-set. However, summer brought a long period of tropical temperatures and little rainfall, resulting in smaller berries, higher concentration, and firm structure. Despite the drought, the vines adapted well, especially in our older vineyards and on sites where we’ve been farming with a “hands-off” approach (no tillage, no shoot-thinning) tailored individually to each vine — i.e., our White Labels plots, the oldest and most idiosyncratic of our vineyards.
Thunderstorms and light rains in August helped stabilize ripening, and the harvest began very early. Careful timing of the pick was crucial to keep the grapes at their maximum potential — a challenge I feel we met. As a result, our 2022 wines are very well structured, full-bodied, and lively, with very good ageing potential.
This historic site forms a natural amphitheatre which leads to less airflow and a tendency to botrytis in the lower part of the vineyard, while the upper part ripens more slowly. We try to preserve this contrast in the wine itself — the result is an unexpected harmony of aromatic opulence and laser-sharp acidity that calls for yet another explorative sip.
As the ancestor of many noble European varieties, Traminer is extremely versatile—capable of producing both fresh, aromatic wines and rich, sweet ones. UMAMI represents what I think of as ‘21st-century aristocracy’: lighter, more flexible, and rooted in regenerative farming practices rather than tradition alone. (Think nouvelle cuisine applied to wine.)
The subsoil is composed of light sand (bottom) and heavy clay (top), adding to the many contrasts embodied in this wine. We always harvest this vineyard among the first, taking great care to preserve all its incredible energy and transform it into a delicately perfumed wine that you’ll never get tired of, especially when paired with (Asian) food, its primary raison d’être — cherchez la faim!
Grape varieties: Traminer (Red and Gewurz)
Region: Moravia
Subregion: Velkopavlovická
Village: Velké Bílovice
Vineyard: Achtele
Soil: Sand, clay
Average altitude: 260 m ASL
Aspect: South-west
Slope: 7%
Farming: Organic (certified by ABCERT — CZ-BIO-002)
Age of vines: 16 – 41 years
Vineyard size: 1.35 ha
Training system: Guyot
Density of plantation: 2.00 × 1.00 m
Harvest: By hand. September 12, 2022.
Yield: 26 hl/ha
Vinification: Whole bunches pressed directly to barrel.
Fermented on full lees (no debourbage) for 5 weeks
Pressing: Slow pneumatic press (20+ hours) at 0.2 bar
Fermentation: Native yeast fermentation with pied-de-cuve
Ageing: Stockinger oak foudre, 3000 litres
Fining: No
Filtration: No
Sulfur addition: 7 ppm before bottling
Bottling: November 2025
Lot number: UMA22
Bottle: 0.75, L. Vetropack Burgundy
Alcohol by volume: 13.00%
Closure: Ardeaseal Organic
Acids: 6.1 g/l
Serving temperature: 12—13 °C
Residual sugar: 0.1 g/l
Serving glass: Zalto Burgundy, Květná Pinot Noir/Nebbiolo Auriga
First vintage: 2017
Designation: Moravské zemské víno (IGP equivalent)
Recycling info: www.nestarec.cz/sorting-info