Pure 100% Monastrell Grapes Wine Varietal
Bodegas Juan Gil is an interesting wine even before one removes the cork and pours the wine. Hailing from Spain, it’s rather unassuming when listing itself as a simple red wine from Jumilla.
Start in Jumilla
Jumilla then begins the interesting part of the story of Juan Gil. Jumilla has long been a wine-producing region in southern Spain. In 1989, long after most other Spanish wine growers had dealt with the bug, Jumilla suffered a phylloxera attack. As phylloxera spread throughout the region, grapevines succumbed and the wine growers in Jumilla lost nearly everything. There is no choice, after phylloxera, but to either replant or give up.
Monastrells Return
Many growers chose to replant with Monastrell as it is a native grape particularly suited to the region’s continental, drought-prone climate. Monastrell requires a Mediterranean climate to mature properly, with long, luminous summers. It has been so successful and approximately 85% of Jumilla’s vineyards are now planted in Monastrell vines. The Monastrell grape is showing remarkable results in the hands of skilled winemakers and Jumilla wines have, therefore, begun to make an impact abroad for good reason. With a better understanding of the grape, it was time to open up the wine. What a dark rich looking wine it is! I had thought the bottle was black, but really it was the inky goodness of the wine. This wine is almost black, it sure could never be called red; deep purple richness. Hitting the glass and the air, it smelled strong at first, but then softer; upon a deeper inhale, I could smell the earth, the loam, the minerals in the soils, plus smoky oak.
A Powerful Mouthful of Spanish Monastrell
Jammy! Maybe because I am a visual kind of girl and the deep purples bought the imagery to my brain, but Jammy was the first adjective that came to mind. I thought of the Vampyre Daiquiris that I had concocted for Halloween and the deep colors created from the raspberry, blackberry and blueberries swirled in the blender. These two beverages could have been long lost cousins, but only in a visual sense!  On first taste, the strength of the alcohol came through over the jamminess and as it lingered; it felt pretty chewy and rather on the dry side.
Juan Gil is More than 100% Monastrell
It might seem like a one trick pony of a wine, but as I kept sipping different things kept happening in my mouth and it got rather interesting. Once my pallet became use to the alcohol content, then the sweetness of the fruit came through. And then, as it opened up, subtle aromas began to come out: clove and vanilla notes. The tannis held up the structure and gave framework for a pleasant finish. Despite being all a wine create from a single varietal; the dark fruit’s small spherical dark berries are whole-cluster macerated sur lie for 25 days after harvest. The juice is then aged for 12 months in French oak barrels. All over is an intense wine with good tannic energy that softens and sweetens and then gets smoky all over again when opened. International Wine Cellar gave Juan Gil a rating of 90 and it is with good reason. At only $14.00 a bottle, Juan Gil  is a tasteful foray into Spanish flavor.
