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Juan Gil Blue Label '18 Meses' Jumilla 2017
RedSpain2017
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-11-13 · Published 2026-09-08 · Updated 2026-09-08
At a glance
In one line
3.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.2 average · world avg price US$30 · Wine Spectator 94, Vivino 4.2, 15.5% alcohol.
Wine Spectator 94 · Wine Advocate (Luis Gutiérrez) 91 · critics listed on Vivino 95 (Oct 2019) and 93·93 (Mar 2020) · CellarTracker 91.3
Market note: The Juan Gil range runs Silver (12 months) < Blue (18 months) < El Nido. Blue Label is Jumilla's flagship, scoring in the low-to-mid 90s from Spectator every year; the 2019 and 2020 vintages peak at 4.3 on Vivino.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“Not bad.”
What I learned today: the hour a bottle was opened gets written into the taste of the glass too.
Friday, my Secret Santa at work gave me a hand cream. Fig scented. I put some on after lunch, and again before leaving. When I walked into the bar, Master Seo glanced at my hands once and said one thing. "Go wash." I washed twice with soap, and a little fig was still left on my fingertips.
Master Seo had opened a bottle at six and didn't pour it until after nine. Black plum, blackberry, toasted bread, earth. And at the very end, dried fig. This time it came from the glass, not my fingertips. Minjae was quiet the whole time Master Seo talked.
When the fig knocked on my nose once more, I saw a bottle standing at the end of a table. My nose remembers not only the scent but where everything stood that day. Late autumn when I was twenty-one, a Wednesday evening with cold rain drumming on the window. Before he even poured the first bubbles that night, Father opened a bottle of red, wrapped it in a cloth, and stood it at the end of the table. While the glasses changed again and again, that bottle stayed standing in its place. Only when the night was deep did Father pick it up. Dark and heavy. Dried fruit at the end. I left about half of that glass. I don't know the bottle's name.
I opened the notebook. "Not bad." Three stars. The same words he wrote for the Kendall-Jackson chardonnay that night. Short, for a bottle that waited all evening. The bottle was Juan Gil Blue Label. I stuck a wine-name Post-it into the notebook. Maybe even that night the bottle still hadn't fully opened. With one more hour, Father's line might have grown a little longer.
On the way home I smelled the fig left on the back of my hand. This time it had two dates. Today, and that night. What I learned today: the hour a bottle was opened gets written into the taste of the glass too.
What this wine is
Jumilla is a dry plateau in south-eastern Spain, between Alicante and Murcia. It barely rains, summers reach 40°C, and because phylloxera largely passed it by in the late 19th century, ungrafted old Monastrell (France's Mourvèdre) vines still survive there. For a long time it was bulk-wine country, and the family that changed that is the Gils. Bodegas Juan Gil was founded in 1916 by Juan Gil Giménez; in 2002 fourth-generation Miguel Gil built a new winery, teamed up with Australian winemaker Chris Ringland and launched 'El Nido', lifting Jumilla into Parker-90s territory. Today, as Gil Family Estates, the family runs around ten wineries across Spain.
Blue Label is the middle tier of the house, sitting between the Silver Label (100% Monastrell, 12 months) and El Nido (Monastrell and Cabernet, Parker 95-ish). Old-vine Monastrell (60%) from limestone soils at around 700 m elevation is joined by 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah, each variety aged separately for 18 months in French and American oak before blending. That is why the Spanish label reads '18 Meses' (18 months). Alcohol is 15.5%. The producer's note: "Purple-black. Toasted bread, graphite, earth, spice box, black fruit, a touch of balsamic. Dense, savoury flavours and a long, pure finish."
What the world says
Wine Spectator gave the 2017 94 points — "A muscular red. Savoury earth, black tea and tobacco wrap a rich core." Luis Gutiérrez of the Wine Advocate gave it 91 — "A wine for those who like ripe, dense, oaky reds. A sweet sensation on the finish, chocolate and cocoa powder." Two reviews looking at one wine from precisely two directions: Spectator sees the power, the Advocate sees the sweetness and the oak.
The Vivino community of 2,380 averages 4.2, with 87% at 4 or above — the highest community score of any wine covered in this magazine so far, apart from Almaviva (4.5). The keywords run oak, vanilla, chocolate, tobacco and coffee; blackberry, plum and blueberry; leather, earth, smoke and balsamic; pepper and licorice — and prune, raisin and fig (81 mentions) stand out. This is the aroma of a hot region, where the fruit goes past ripe into slightly dried. Structure: intensity 4.0/5, tannin 3.3, sweetness 2.0.
The vintages have not wavered from 4.2–4.3 since 2014.
"Dense, full-bodied blend. Blackcurrant and berries, balsamic, wood, tobacco. Concentrated, juicy and long. A winner. WS 94." — Vivino review, Feb 2021, 4.5 stars
"Surprisingly good. Thick texture, lots of oak, dried fig, balsamic. Round on the palate, long tannic finish." — Vivino review, Oct 2020, 4.5 stars
"A lot to unpack. Clove, tobacco, a little vanilla, blueberry. Spicy black fruit. Really opened up after about an hour." — Vivino review, Apr 2020, 4.5 stars
How I drank it
November 13, 2019, 3 stars. The note is two words: "Not bad."
I logged sixteen bottles that day. Five got 3: this Juan Gil, Mouton Cadet 2016, Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay 2014, Montes Alpha Merlot 2015 and the Ruhlmann crémant rosé — with Almaviva at 4.5 above and Graham's Port at 1 below. Juan Gil returns once, on March 21, 2025, when the Silver Label 2018 also got 3. There is no re-tasting of the Blue Label on record.
My 3 is 1.2 below the community's 4.2, and further still from Wine Spectator's 94 and Wine Advocate's 91. At 15.5% alcohol and 18 months in oak, this is a bottle for at least an hour of decanting, and it sits near the top of my re-taste list.
Vivino community data
2017 vintage rating distribution (2380 ratings, average 4.2)
| 5★ | 443 (19%) | |
| 4★ | 1618 (68%) | |
| 3★ | 269 (11%) | |
| 2★ | 30 (1%) | |
| 1★ | 20 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | 1465 | oak 463 · vanilla 327 · chocolate 229 · tobacco 120 · coffee 69 |
| Black fruit | 997 | blackberry 277 · plum 203 · blueberry 83 |
| Earth & leather | 509 | leather 167 · earth 104 · smoke 89 · balsamic 44 |
| Red fruit | 288 | cherry 160 · raspberry 30 |
| Spice | 286 | pepper 102 · licorice 76 · cinnamon 26 · mint 22 |
| Dried fruit | 81 | prune 28 · raisin 26 · fig 20 |
Structure: Acidity 3.2/5 · Intensity 4.0/5 · Tannin 3.3/5 · Sweetness 2.0/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 28455 ratings, average 4.2)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 3.9 | 2111 |
| 2013 | 4.0 | 1370 |
| 2014 | 4.2 | 1562 |
| 2015 | 4.2 | 2326 |
| 2016 | 4.2 | 3122 |
| 2017 | 4.2 | 2380 |
| 2018 | 4.2 | 2840 |
| 2019 | 4.3 | 3103 |
| 2020 | 4.3 | 2377 |
| 2021 | 4.2 | 1364 |
| 2022 | 4.3 | 1270 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Juan Gil Blue Label?
A full-bodied red from Bodegas Juan Gil in Jumilla, Spain. Old-vine Monastrell (60%) blended with 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah, aged 18 months in French and American oak (the '18 Meses' on the label). 15.5% alcohol, a dense, sweet-edged style of blackberry, chocolate, vanilla and licorice; Wine Spectator 94, Vivino 4.2.
What is the difference between Silver Label, Blue Label and El Nido?
Silver (12 Meses) is 100% Monastrell aged 12 months and the cheapest of the three; Blue (18 Meses) is the Cabernet–Syrah blend aged 18 months; El Nido is the top label made with Chris Ringland, scoring around Parker 95. Blue is generally considered the best critic score for the money.
How much does it cost?
Overseas retail is US$30–35. The Silver Label from the same house is much cheaper and far easier to find, while the top El Nido costs several times as much.
Does it need decanting?
Yes. At 15.5% alcohol with 18 months of oak, opened and poured straight away it shows only alcohol and oak. Vivino reviews repeat 'it opened up after an hour'. Decant for at least an hour and serve slightly cool at 16–18°C. Suggested drinking window: 2022–2027.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Woodland Hills Wine Co. — 2017 Blue Label reviews (WS 94, WA 91) and technical data
- Boutinot — Juan Gil Blue Label producer sheet (blend, elevation, oak)
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Tasted the same dayAntinori (Tenuta Montenisa), 'Marchese Antinori' Cuvée Royale Franciacorta NV
Italy · Lombardy★½☆☆☆Tasted the same dayKendall-Jackson, Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
United States · Sonoma★★★★☆Tasted the same day1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley 2015
Chile★★★★☆Similar styleVega Sicilia Unico 2008
Spain · Ribera del Duero★★★★★Similar styleDescendientes de J. Palacios Pétalos 2017
Spain★★★☆☆Same grape