Bodegas Juan Gil blue label 18 Meses 2017

The 2017 Juan Gil (blue label) was formerly known as 18 Months, which is the amount of time it matured in barrel. It is a blend of 60% Monastrell, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah fermented in stainless steel and matured in new barrels for 18 months. This is the wine from the portfolio where they keep 100% new oak and use French grapes to give it more of a voluptuous, ripe (15.5% alcohol) and generously oaked, somehow international profile. Ashy and with liqueur-like notes and plenty of dusty tannins, it’s for fans of ripe, heady and oaky reds. There’s a sweet sensation in the finish, notes of chocolate, cocoa powder and espresso coffee. 30,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2019.

The Gil Vera family have championed the style of powerful Monastrell in Jumilla since 2002, even if their roots in wine can be traced back three generations to 1916. They now own around 750 hectares of vineyards, mostly old-vine and dry-farmed Monastrell but also some Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Tempranillo and Moscatel. Most of the vineyards are worked organically, as they are certifying more and more of their vineyards and more and more of their wines. The environmental approach has also reached the winery, where they use 100% solar energy and all residuals are recycled; the whole operation is truly sustainable. They produce 2.7 million bottles per year, so it’s not a small winery where these things are more or less easy to achieve.