Spanish Wine = Excellent Value
Juan Gil is one of several wine brands produced by the Gil Family, four generations of wine makers, dating back to 1916 (see my previous post about Honoro Vera, a Garnacha also named to represent their family in the business). This 2013, silver label, Jumilla red wine was a delicious 100% Monastrell, aged for 12 months in French oak. The Monastrell grapes were selected from different vineyards in D.O.P. Jumilla, one of the oldest Designations of Origin (regulated since 1966) in the Jumilla region of Southeast Spain—where there are over 30,000 hectares (approx.74,000 acres) of vineyards registered. This bottle was devoured fairly quickly!
Excellent, full body, and elegant label
Didn’t taste like 15% Alcohol.
It also didn’t taste like it was under $20! For $14.99 on Wine.com, it was a great deal (I also used the free wine app: Wine Value Ratings, which linked me to Wine.com) and was worth every cent. It was deliciously full-bodied, with a pretty, deep-red, inky hue. Notes of dark chocolate, ripe berries, perhaps raspberry, & some subtle earthiness bear-hugged my taste buds. With a 15% alcohol, you might expect an initial whiff of fuel, but it was subtle, jammy and without even being decanted, it was lovely from the first sip. I didn’t purchase this bottle for the elegant, silver label, but you could…
Monastrell and Mourvedre are the same grape
Some Facts about the Monastrell Grape:
The Monastrell (pronounced: “Mone-ah-stray” in Spanish, but if you say “Mon-a-strell” it’s ok) grape is also known as Mourvèdre (“moore-ved”) & Mataró. It’s commonly used as a blending grape in popular French wines such as Châteauneuf du Pape/Côtes du Rhône & in Australian GSM blends (GSM = Grenache, Syrah, and Monastrell (Mourvèdre/Mataró).
These are lovely, full-bodied red blends usually with a higher alcohol content due to the warm region heat/sun loving, ripe, sugary grapes. If you like jammy Syrah or Petite Sirah type wines, you’ll more than likely enjoy this Monastrell. C
Thanks to Maria Dugnol, their export contact, for kindly emailing me back & forth, & recommending I try this brand. The Gil Family have great, artistic labels, stylish like their wines (bonus).
Shout out/Thank you to Maria Dugnol, their export contact, who kindly emailed me back & forth, suggesting I try this brand:)
Cheers!
