Marada - Cheeky Blonde, Pet Nat, Moravia, Chechia (NV)

TASTING NOTES

Cran-raspberry, earth, sour cherry and a touch of soy/umami on the palate, with tons of lip-smacking acidity with some creaminess, aromas of blackberries and raspberries.

Founded in 2006, Petr Marada’s eponymous winery is focused on creating dry wines with varietal precision and sparkling wines of character. His “Natural” wines are clean, fresh and full of primary character and his still, orange and red wines are all lovingly crafted. However, the real passion project here is sparkling: some made in the Traditional Method (where a secondary fermentation is encouraged in bottle), others made in the Ancestral Method (where initial fermentation takes place in bottle). Four distinct vineyards offer four unique sets of soil types which include sandy loam, loess, chalky tuffeau and volcanic.

Along with well known Pinot Noir, André is an indigenous grape of Czechia. A crossing of Frankovka and St. Laurent, these thin-skinned, highly acidic grapes need a long growing season to fully ripen before harvest.

Moravia is the largest wine region in Czechia, accounting for 96% of total production. It sits on the border of Austria and Slovakia, on the same parallel as Champagne, but is warmer than any of them during the growing season, leading to higher sugar content and fuller-bodied wines with riper flavours.

The soils are mostly marine and freshwater sediment left over from large inland seas, along with tuffeau, sandstone, limestone and loess.