Juan Gil Rosado 2024

The Juan Gil estate sits in Jumilla, in the inland Murcia region, a warm and dry corner of southeast Spain where the family has made wine across four generations since 1916. This rosado is built from Syrah and Petit Verdot rather than the local Monastrell, grown on poor, stony soils under intense sunshine and wide day to night temperature swings that hold the acidity firm despite the heat. The fruit is harvested and the rosé given four months in oak barrels, which softens the texture and adds a light spice and a faint toasty note to the primary fruit. The wine pours a bright partridge eye pink. The nose leads with fresh strawberry and cherry, a suggestion of strawberry sweets and a touch of vanilla and pepper from the wood. On the palate it is fuller and rounder than a young tank rosé, with ripe red fruit, a plummy depth and a savoury, lightly spiced finish carried by the barrel work. Serve it at 9 to 11 degrees in a white wine glass. The extra weight from the oak lets it stand up to grilled and roasted dishes rather than just aperitif fare.