The colour is medium garnet. On the nose dark berries and prunes under spirit. In the mouth fresh, with well-integrated tannins. The aftertaste is tasty and very, very long.
The 2008 El Nido is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Monastrell, aged for 24 months in new French and American oak.
I discovered about El Nido when in August I visited Bodegas Juan Gil in Jumilla. El Nido is the result of the partnership between the Gil Family and Chris Ringland, a renowned Australian winemaker. The first harvest sold was the 2002 vintage and got awarded 96 points by Robert Parker. The 2003 scored 97 and the 2004 almost reached perfection with 99 points. A new star was born!
Aside from Jumilla, where they own Juan Gil and Bodegas El Nido, the Gil Family Estates is also present in Montsant (Can Blau), Priorat (Bluegrey), Calatayud (Ateca), Campo de Borja (Morca), Almansa (Atalaya), Castilla y León (Tridente and Shaya, the latter under the Rueda, Rías Baixas (Lagar de Condesa) and Rioja (Rosario Vera).
El Nido is an iconic wine created by Gil Family to, I guess, give prestige to its empire of moderately priced wines. This bottle sells at Arvi for 150 CHF.
Country: Spain
Region: Murcia
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Monastrell/Mourvedre
Type: Red
Vintage: 2008
Producer: Bodegas El Nido
Price range: Luxury (>100 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 3/5