WineLovers Discussion Group

I stopped in at the Wine Cafe in downtown Fayetteville to pick up two bottles of a Maranges that I had sampled on Marquis de la Fayettette's birthday. (2010 Domaine Bachelet-Monnot Maranges 1er Cru La Fussiere which seems a decent Burgundy for the $35 point.) It was a beautiful day with temp. around 69-71 Fahrenheit so I sampled three wines from the dispensing machine and took my glass to a table outside. I was joined by a young Special Forces medic-in-training. He is from Oregon and has lived in Germany, Poland, Indonesia and traveled in South America so of course he was assigned Mandarin Chinese as his language of study. I'm looking for Spanish wines available locally to include in a Spanish tapas evening at my church in January or February and I liked both that I tried today. The 2009 BODEGAS JUAN GIL MONASTRELL, JUMILLA, was very fruity with red berries and cherries. it was an attractive light ruby color. I can see it being a crowd pleaser and a QPR at $15.99 a bottle.

After a half-glass pour of this I went on to a taste of 2005 ARDEVOL COMA D'EN ROMEU PRIORAT RED BLEND. This was full-bodied with 14.5% alcohol but pleasant to drink. Red-brick color with brownish or umber shadings and I thought the description on the dispenser (from a wine critic or the distributor?) was spot on. It mentioned mulberries and spices and having grippy tannins Indeed this was more grippy than the Monastrell although four years younger. It had been recently opened. Displayed a mild funk or earthiness and came on with a strong finish. The ones who prefer big, bold red wines may like this one. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Garnacha/Grenache. The Wine Cafe sells it for $23.99 a bottle.

I then went back for a taste of a sweet wine the HAUCK RIESLING SPATLESE RHEINHESSEN. i forgot to note the vintage on this. I found some of the peach and pear notes mentioned in the description. It was spritzig when poured and quite acidic even with residual sugar. I think I can do better than this one if I want to include a Riesling in a tasting event. A pleasant way to spend an hour or more on a nice afternoon. The medic said he likes how the al fresco dining in downtown Fayetteville captures a bit of a European vibe. (When I lived in Nurnberg-Furth I was in a sixth-floor apartment overlooking a large courtyard with children's playset and sandbox, outdoor dining from an Italian restaurant and a bakery and a large fountain. It was "wunderbar" in nice weather.)

The Juan Gil is an old favorite and has been very popular in our area (Upstate NY) for the past 5 or more vintages sells well up here..nice wine for the money

Wow, Juan Gil up to $16ish? That wine, or rather a previous vintage of it, was an inky monster with huge Parker points that sold around here at $10 seven-eight years ago. A friend recently pulled a 2002, I believe it was, and poured it blind--it was only barely middle aged and eminently drinkable.

Our store is selling the Juan Gill at about the same price. I didn't know it could age. I will have to get some of the current vintage and do an experiment. It is not a bad price in the current environment. I remember when it was $3-$4 less a few years ago.

James Roscoe wrote:Our store is selling the Juan Gill at about the same price. I didn't know it could age. I will have to get some of the current vintage and do an experiment. It is not a bad price in the current environment. I remember when it was $3-$4 less a few years ago.

Might be a negociant wine with a lot of variability in vintages, though. I notice JC described a light ruby red wine; and I know those early Juan Gils were dark and concentrated.

guess I missed the"light ruby color" comment initially..I too remember Juan Gil as being dark and concentrated..haven't tasted any recent vintages..If memory serves, I think it was selling for around $10-11 when I first discovered it, price increase of less than $1/year not outrageous

I missed the light color comment as well. Quite frankly, I have to wonder if her glasses were dirty. The Juan Gill I have drunk in the past year has been very dark and juicy.

just got an email from one of our local wine stores, they are featuring Juan Gil at $13/bottle