Spain is one of my favorite wine-producing countries. Even though I’ve yet to collect that stamp on my passport, when I drink a Spanish wine I can almost taste the Mediterranean sunshine in my glass.
Recently in Texas, I got to sample some marvelous wines (and meet the winemakers!) at The Wine Authority. They came from three distinct continental regions in Spain: Jumilla, Rueda, and Campo de Borja.
Gil Family Estates (Viñas Familia Gil) owns or controls 13 wineries across Spain, representing more than 10 DOs. (There’s a Juan Gil brandy now, too!) At the center of the company is the Juan Gil label, a benchmark for quality Monastrell and Monastrell-based blends from Jumilla.
Bodegas Juan Gil‘s head winemaker, Bartolo Abellán, brought two 2023 wines to share: The popular “Blue Label” blend (60% Monastrell, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Syrah) and the limited-release “110th Anniversary” bottling. Packed with concentrated dark fruit and swathed in generous French and American oak, both wines represent excellent value for lovers of rich-tasting, age-worthy reds.
The anniversary bottle is a US-only offering that commemorates Juan Gil’s first 110 years (1916-2026). Made from 100% Monastrell from 50-year-old vines, it’s layered and interesting, with mulberries, iron, and herbed/peppered meat leading into a smooth and sturdy mouthful of blackberries and sweet spice. (It’s also priced attractively at under $30.)
But before we indulged in those pours, winemaker Andrés Monsalve presented two Verdejos from Bodegas Shaya in Rueda. Founded in 2008, Shaya is the current steward of some of the oldest Verdejo plantings in existence–including some ungrafted, high-altitude parcels that are more than 120 years old.
It’s tempting to think of Rueda’s Verdejo as a light, refreshing pour that doesn’t stand up to cellaring. But Shaya turns that assumption on its head with bottle-aged, old-vine, and barrel-fermented expressions of the variety.
Andrés surprised us all by pouring an older example–the 2018 “Arindo” Verdejo–before the current (2023) Arindo. Showing some bottle age with soft yellow apples, dried chamomile, and unroasted nuts, it still finishes fresh with minerals and grapefruit pith. (Produced in 100% stainless steel, this vintage was remembered by the winemaker as a favorite project.)
The Shaya “Habis” Verdejo is a premium, barrel-fermented Verdejo from 126-year-old vines. Round and complex, with apple, pineapple, herbs, light spice, and rising bread on the nose. It’s produced in 400-, 500-, and 600-liter French oak barrels and spends 10 months on its fine lees.
Bodegas Morca came next in the lineup, represented by Gil Family managing partner (and Morca winemaker) Jordi Flos. We tasted Morca’s “Godina” Garnacha and the flagship Morca Garnacha.
I have a deep, ruby-red, everlasting passion for Garnacha from Aragón. It’s where I go when I’m looking for value on a wine list…and also for unqualified deliciousness, regardless of price. Garnacha is capable of bringing it all to the table–fruit, fragrance, and power.
The two wines chosen from Bodegas Morca showed the effects of altitude/aspect and wine-making on this king of Spanish grapes. The village of Borja, located at the foothills of the Moncayo mountain range, offers Morca’s winemaker a range of sites to work with.
The Godina Garnacha is the entry-level wine–but it is elegant juice. It’s crowned with spices and florals and is almost delicate, despite its 16% ABV. Tart red fruits, cherry blossom and blackberry leaf are sweetened with vanilla bean and molasses.
The deeply colored “Morca” is full and jammy, with soft blackberries and plums, pipe tobacco, and a beautiful nose of purple flowers and baking spice. This premium, old-vine Garnacha bottling spends 22 months aging in French oak barrels–richness heaped upon richness.
I cherished the opportunity to enjoy these indigenous varieties with the winemakers! Here’s to the future of Spanish wine–the value and variety are unsurpassed!
Wines tasted (prices are suggested retail):
Bodegas Shaya “Arindo” Verdejo (2018) – Rueda, Spain – $12
Bodegas Shaya “Arindo” Verdejo (2023) – Rueda, Spain – $12
Bodegas Morca “Godina” Garnacha (2022) – Campo de Borja, Aragón, Spain – $26
Bodegas Morca “Morca” Garnacha (2022) – Campo de Borja, Aragón, Spain – $42
Juan Gil “Blue Label” Red Blend (2023) – Jumilla, Spain – $35
Juan Gil “Hijos de Juan Gil Guerrero” 110th Anniversary Monastrell (2023) – Jumilla, Spain – $28
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. I received a comp of the tasting fee with my wine purchase. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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