Max Sein Wein
2016
Le Blanc Nu II
Ortega, Müller-Thurgau
Franconia, Germany

I'm fascinated by people like Max Baumann who is probably taking over the winery of his parents very soon. All the land is slowly being transitioned to organic farming. Max himself has toured the world and learned at different famous wineries. Currently, he is running the technical part of Gut Oggau's cellar. Gut Oggau is one of the most famous Austrian wineries in natural wine with a brilliant marketing story. Max is making his wines on the side with the help of his father. He has made three different wines for his first vintage, and all are absolutely amazing in their own kind of way.

As much as I love the labels on this one, I hate the condom-like wax cap. Be careful when you open it. Le Blanc Nu II is a very unique white wine made from a little bit of Müller Thurgau and mostly Ortega, a funky grape which is often used for sweet wine. Max left the crushed grapes for 12 days with the skin. They were then pressed and left untouched for 12 months when they were filled into bottles. With just 11 percent of alcohol, it is a very easily drinkable wine reminding me of pear and apple juice with some smoky and nutty flavors. It's very low in acidity and has some salty aftertaste which I think it would make it great with any sort of intense, raw fish like oysters.

This wine is part of
 
Volume 2: The Deutschwein Edition