Milan Nestarec – JIL 2019

“Frankovka” doesn’t come easy to me. Neither to make it nor to talk about it. It comes from within, speaks softly, considering every word. Gives me hope yet doesn’t make my life any easier. It’s like the finest perfume: it moves you, but it’s ever elusive, you have to focus in order to capture it. A love at second sight, like circling around each other in a slow tango, wondering if you’re made for each other. That’s why we’ve released so few pure Blaufrankisch wines so far – until now.

This one is from a beautiful, balanced south-oriented vineyard called Jung. A 2-hectare plot in Moravský Žižkov, with vines up to 35 years old and quite low yields (20 hl/ha, compared to the 100hl allowed in the area). I watched the spot for a while until one glorious day I could finally make it mine.

JIL is quite the character, full of desire and rebelliousness, but also hope. Wine at the beginning of its journey – and boy, do I look forward to seeing where this road takes us…

The name is actually inspired by the Czech word for clay, jíl, but you can put all sorts of meanings (and winegrower’s mental states, haha) in it: Jung Is Love, Jumping In Luxury, Just Incredibly Lush, Jeeesus I’m Lucky, Jeeesus I’m Lost, Joyful–Intense–Layered…