Nibiru 'Tradition Red' 1L

The vibe: This is a crunchy, juicy blend of Zweigelt and Merlot, packed with ripe red and black fruit, vibrant herbaceousness and crunchy acidity, with slightly funky, earthy undertones. It also sees over three years in barrel before bottling, so this is a liter than can hang with the big kids. You could bring this to Thanksgiving dinner and your uncle who has a wine cellar would probably drink it. Probably. They named the winery Nibiru after an ancient Sumerian myth about Planet X (more on that in the section below), so it’s got an edgy side. They’re probably playing into the fact that low intervention wines in Austria go against the grain in terms of the conventional, chemical-ridden wines the Kamptal region was known for back in the 1980s. They were adding antifreeze to their wines among other things which like, why? Yuck. Anyway, this wine is totally natural and represents the best of what Austria has to offer these days. It’s so good. 

The winemaker: Named for a Sumerian myth about a planet that goes through our solar system every 3600 years - and the weirdest thing about it is that the planet appears to move the opposite direction as all other planets which probably fuels all the conspiracy theories about it. Josef & Julia named their project Nibiru Wines as a nod to the oppositional, rare mythical planet that seems to symbolize the difference in their approach from the imposing, chemical-ridden, classical past of the Kamptal and their hopes for what may be possible in this region in the future.

The geeky details: Grapes were fermented separately in open-top fermenters for two to four weeks, were pressed into stainless steel for malo, then after malolactic, moved into big fass from Josef’s grandfather’s dugout cellar. The wine has been aging since Nov ’18, so nearly 40 months in a barrel, bottled Feb 2022. 

Serve: With a light chill.

Food pairing: Bratwurst, those soup bread bowls, hearty stews, rich cheeses. 

Album pairing: Ginger Rose - Afternoon Delight