Jilly Wine Co. 'Black Mountain' Pinot Noir 2019

'The vines sit on grey basalt soil at an altitude of 1306m ASL making it the highest piece of agricultural dirt in this country. This vineyard is run by Jilly using organic practices.

There ya go. New England gained a lot of mojo from the input of Jilly Wines. This feels definitively ‘high country’ in its impact. What a compelling wine. It is 100% whole bunch too.

I can’t put this down. What’s going on? So much. It’s really light in flavour, all just ripe berry fruits and pleasing sour cherry, but the tannin cuddle is something else, a web of Italianate succulence and immediately mouth-watering character, rippling long and to infinity. There’s distinct alpine herb and genepy notes in this wine, pretty and appealing too. That being said, an ashy, smoky-minerally note finds its way in there too. It’s other-wordly wine. Almost ungainly. Decrepit and kind of shrill. But it all works. Made on a cold, dusty planet somewhere else. I love it. You should too.'

- 95 points, Mike Bennie, The Winefront