Nibiru

Biodynamic. 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Blanc. All of the fruit for this sparkler is taken from the Goldnagel – Nibiru’s most important vineyard parcel, on one of highest terraces they have, dominated by the dark, glittery, schist-like Amphibolit soils. Vine age is between 30-40 yrs old. The base wine was unfiltered, with no sulfur added, on full lees for one year. Secondary fermentation began in October 2020, with organic cane sugar and organic-approved yeast addition. The wine was then aged on lees in bottle for fifteen months, disgorged in Jan/Feb 2022. 15 mg/l SO2 added at disgorging. Well-known Kamptal natural winemaker Matthias Hager was very helpful to Josef as the latter made this wine over the course of three years; they tasted together on several occasions and shared ideas for how to shape this special sparkler. It has a deep profile, with golden notes and aromas, driven by acidity. An elegant expression of some of Nibiru’s best terroir.

Biodynamic. 50% Zweigelt, 50% Merlot. Though this wine is labeled ‘NV,’ in this bottling it is all 2018 juice; even though the wine is inexpensive and cheerful in profile, it represents great value from the Nibiru cellar. The grapes were fermented separately in open-top fermenters for two-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 barrel, bottled Feb 2022. Most lots of this wine received two SO2 additions over this time; free sulfur is brought to 20 parts at bottling. ‘Oida!’ is local slang for ‘Hey!’: a joyful take on the table wine red blend, common in the Kamptal before Grüner and Riesling became all anyone cared about in the area.

Biodynamic. Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Frühroter Veltliner, Gelber Muskateller, Chardonnay, Müller-Thurgau. A blend of almost all of Josef’s vineyard sites in small pieces, meant to be an easygoing snapshot of all the different varieties and terrain across Nibiru’s 12ha. The blend is mostly juice from 2020, with a small part of it from ’21 and ’19. About 80% of the fruit is fermented in stainless steel, with some small lots in neutral barriques. Almost all lots go through malo in the last third of primary fermentation; the wines then rest on full lees for around six months, and finally are racked to fine lees. At racking, the wines usually see a small sulfur addition (around 15 mg/l). Aging on the fine lees lasts for a bit over a year, with the small part of ’21 juice on lees for four months. Some lots received additions of SO2 around 15-20ppm, mostly once, a few tanks twice. ‘Oida!’ is an Austrian slang term that means ‘hey!’: Josef wants this to be a playful representation of something like northern Austria’s traditional Gemischter Satz.

Organic, Biodynamic. Roughly 50/50 Portugieser and Zweigelt. Average vine age 30 years old, from a mix of parcels planted on gneiss, quartz, and loess soils. Whole cluster pressed, then spontaneously fermented in tank; when fermentation was in motion, they filled the bottles with the active wine to complete in bottle. Undisgorged. Zero SO2 added. RS around 3 g/l. Tastes like pure brambly fresh cola, with great acidity.

Organic, Biodynamic. 100% Portugieser taken from a mix of parcels on heavy, deep loam, vine age on average 20 years. 50% whole cluster, 50% destemmed. 7 days’ ferment on the skins, pressed off into stainless steel tank. 20ppm SO2 added in January. Unfined, unfiltered. Loire Valley heads, rejoice at this Central European entry into the ‘new best friend in the peppery light red’ category.

100% Gelber Muskateller. Taken from a single vineyard in Mollands called Hiesberg, a very cool, north-facing vineyard site surrounded by forest. 24 hours skin contact. There’s very little Gelber Muskateller in north Austria, so this is special.

Biodynamic. 100% Gelber Muskateller. Taken from two vineyard sites at 20-25 years of age. Fermentation begins in stainless steel, then when the wine is around 20g/l residual sugar, it’s bottled to trap bubbles. Aged on lees for about five months in bottle, then disgorged in Feb/March of ’22. 15g/L SO2 added at disgorgement. The most ethereal, aromatically compelling pét-nat Josef has produced yet.

Biodynamic. 100% Grüner Veltliner. Taken entirely from the Goldnagel, Nibiru’s most important vineyard site: higher-elevation, old terraces, dominated by the dark, glittery, schist-like Amphibolit soils. Vines planted in 1973. Josef waited until mid-December to harvest this fruit entirely by hand, berry by berry; it was then fermented in neutral oak. Afterward, the wine was racked into a steel tank which Josef drove outside into the cold to slow fermentation to a crawl. It spent one year in stainless steel in cold temperatures until bottling.

Organic, Biodynamic. 100% Grüner Veltliner taken from two vineyard sites, one 2ha site called the Rothgraben, and another vineyard farther south in the village of Mollands; average vine age of 30-35 years. Mix of loess and loamy soils. 50% skin-fermented for five days to add texture, spontaneously fermented in stainless steel and kept on fine lees in stainless steel until bottling. 20ppm SO2 added in January. Unfined, unfiltered.

Organic, Biodynamic. 100% Müller-Thurgau. 65 year-old vines in the high-quality single vineyard of Hiesberg; the MT is grown on schist, quartz, and feldspath, in this intensely windy site. Hiesberg was farmed biodynamically even before Julia and Josef acquired it in 2015, so the fruit quality has been high since Nibiru’s inception. There’s almost no old-vines Müller-Thurgau to speak of anywhere in northern Austria, as not many in previous generations have taken the variety seriously, so it’s not often seen as a top offering from a winery like this. Fully de-stemmed, fermented on the skins for seven days, then pressed off into 225L old oak barrels. Kept on lees until bottling. 20ppm SO2 added in January. Unfined, unfiltered. A striking rendition of an underdog variety.

100% Riesling. A hand selection in the vineyard of the very best fruit from Nibiru’s best site, the Goldnagel. Foot-stomped, whole-cluster, two days’ maceration, ferment in wood + three years’ aging before release. One of the top wines at the domaine.

Biodynamic. 100% Riesling taken from Nibiru’s top site in their home village of Thürneustift, the Goldnagel. The terraces Josef selects for this cuvée are the ‘youngest’ vines in the vineyard, at an average age of 40 years old (whereas 80+ year-old vines go into the top-tier ‘Amphibolit’ cuvée). Whole-cluster pressed, then spontaneously fermented in stainless steel, racked only once and kept on fine lees eight months, until bottling. 20ppm SO2 added in January. Unfined, unfiltered.