The colour is dark ruby. On the nose dark cherries, dark berries and dark chocolate, accompanied by balsamic and spicy notes. In the mouth smooth, with a marked sensation of dark chocolate that last in the long aftertaste. With air the sensations change and become more subtle, which makes tasting this wine interesting.
This wine is a blend of 60% Monastrell, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah. It ages for 18 months in French and American oak barrels.
Juan Gil Blue Label is produced under the Jumilla DO, an area dominated by the Monastrell grape, the only grape that can grow in this harsh region without being watered. With the advent of watering facilities, the planting of varieties such as Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have been introduced. They are used to add body and character to Monastrell-based reds, as it is the case with this wine.
Travelling to this wine region you can see that grapes are still in competition with other fruits for land. The grapes being relegated mainly to the less hospitable plots. In history this has been the case in most of the places. Only with the increase in the price of wine did vines take over most of the landscape. I can imagine that if the wines of Jumilla take off in the international market and start commanding higher prices, soon most of the region will be covered by vineyards. This happened for example in the Bolgheri DOC I visited in July.
For this bottle I paid 18.90 EUR at the winery. I also bought a bottle of their flagship wine: Juan Gil Silver Label 2018. It sells for 9.45 EUR and is made with 100% Monastrell grapes. 700’000 bottles are produced every year.
I was planning to make a post commenting both wines, but due to COVID-19 I decided to interrupt my Holidays and go back home before having to quarantine. I gifted the unopened bottle Juan Gil Silver Label 2018 to the cleaning lady and the still almost full Juan Gil Blue Label 2018 to the receptionist. In both cases they rewarded me with a big smile of appreciation, which at the end was even more fulfilling than drinking the wine.
Country: Spain
Region: Murcia
Grapes: Monastrell/Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah
Type: Red
Vintage: 2018
Producer: Bodegas Juan Gil
Price range: Medium (15-30 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 3/5