Bodegas Hijos de Juan Gil Juan Gil 2006

#83 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2009

Dark cherry color with purple tones. In the nose it has powerful aromas of red berries, toast, leather and smoke from aging in oak barrels. Good structure with ripe blackberry and blueberry notes and sweet tannins. The palate is very rich with an elegant balance between fruit, alcohol and oak. Pair with roasted or braised meat, lamb, pork or game, braised vegetables, mushrooms, poultry and baked or grilled fish with hearty sauces, smoked seafood, blue cheese and cured meats.

Aged in French oak for 12 months. 100% Monastrell from 45 year old vines in Jumilla where a harsh, arid climate and shallow, chalky soils on a bed of limestone and rock, combine to produce very low yields.

"The 2006 Juan Gil is also 100% Monastrell but aged for 12 months in French and American oak. It was sourced from an estate vineyard with 45 years of age. This purple-colored wine offers superb aromatics of wood smoke, damp earth, violets, and blueberry pie. Layered, succulent, and long, it will evolve for another 2-3 years and be at its best from 2010 to 2018."
-Wine Advocate

"Dark purple. Spicy blackberry and cassis on the nose. Refreshingly bitter cherry and dark berry skin flavors are brightened by zesty minerality and firmed by dusty tannins, picking up subtle iron and graphite qualities with air. Finishes with very good focus and youthful grip, the cherry note repeating. I like this wine's energy."
-International Wine Cellar