Viva España VIP Event Saturday October 21 3 - 5 pm
We are so excited to welcome Félix Jiménez to the Bottle Shop for a VIP Spanish Wine Tasting event. Félix represents the Gil family in the U.S., educating all of us so beautifully about their high quality methods and about Spanish wines in general. We were long time fans of Juan Gil before we met Félix earlier this year. Once we tasted through the latest vintages with him, we were ready to promote their wines all summer long, which we did with pleasure. The Gil family produces a wonderful range of wines from authentic 'everyday' Spanish whites, reds and rosé to old vine 'icon' wines such as CLIO from Jumilla. On Saturday October 21st we will taste a fresh, zesty Albariño white from the north coast of Spain, which makes the ideal aperitif or to serve with white fishes. We will taste three reds : La Atalaya, an old vine Grenache/Monastrell; Godina Campo di Borja Grenache, which is brand new to the market and the Juan Gil portfolio; as well as the famous Clio from 2014, an old vine Monastrell/ Cabernet Sauvignon blend which we will offer in both 750 ml and limited quantities of magnums.
We tasted and positively loved Kentia Albariño during a terrific meeting with Felix Jimenez, the US Brand Embassador and Business Development for Gil Family Estates. Kentia is made from high elevation vineyards in the Rías Baixas region, which is famous for Albariño wines. The palm on the label is named Kentia, and these plants are planted around this region which is on the coast of northern Spain. Look for delicious aromas and flavors of sea breeze, mineral, apricot, melon and granite in a classic, authentic style. Kentia is fresh, clean and zippy, yet ripe, fruit-driven and balanced. This tastes exactly the way we like Albariño. Serve with Spanish-style seafood appetizers or on its own
Made by the Juan Gil family who also make the famous Clio red in Jumilla, Bodegas Atalaya 'La Atalaya' is an old vine red made from 65 year vines with Garnacha, Monastrell and Alicante Bouschet. The yields are incredibly low, with only 2 ½ tons per acre. Big, dense, chewy and smooth, this delicious bargain red has black fruit, olive and mocha notes in the nose and mouth. Founded in 1916, Juan Gil is celebrating their 100th anniversary, and continues to show the world how great, authentic wines are made with love, passion and pride!!!
A super plush, concentrated blend of old vine Monastrell and Cabernet Sauvignon, this is deep purple-colored with an exotic bouquet of grilled bread, spice box, violets, espresso and berries. Layered and opulent, this still has superb balance and poise. The winemaking at the El Nido project is overseen by renowned Australian vigneron Chris Ringland. After a rigid selection process, the grapes are basket pressed and fermented in new French and American oak for up to 2 years. We have been buying Clio since the first vintage, 2002. Founded as a joint project between the Gil family, who has done so much to put Jumilla on the map, wine broker Jorge Ordonez, one of the pioneers for unearthing high quality wines from Jumilla, and famed Barossa, Australia winemaker, Chris Ringland, El Nido is located in the Valley of the Aragona, 10 kilometers north of the town of Jumilla, in the "top boundary", so named because it is the highest altitude in the municipality.
