JIL

Desire and rebelliousness. Hope. The fusion of souls.

Jung, Žižkov. Clay. Blaufrankisch.

“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...

Wanna drink this?  These are the guys to ask where to get my wine in your country, or you can buy our White Labels Tasting pack here.

Files to download:

The White Labels are our top-shelf wines, the pinnacle of our work. Hailing from our most interesting micro-locations, oldest vines, and often field blends. This unique energy is preserved by the gentlest treatment and several years of undisturbed ageing in our cellar. Minimal interventions, maximum genius loci.

These wines speak about our quest for elegance in all our imperfections. Purism inside and out. Pouring in our hearts as well as all our long-term work and know-how, something I'm proud of. All that is reflected on the labels. When working on them, we took out elements that weren’t essential until only my signature and the name of the wine remained. Because, as they say, perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

I don't wanna look like a natural-born sage - it took me some time to get there. My journey, like many others, has been paved with gold engravings and curlicues, like on a fancy tombstone. “Nestarec, a wine for funerals”, as a friend of mine dubbed it back then. Oops. But I remember that period fondly - it's a part of my evolution. No regrets, like in that famous Edith Piaf song.