EGOBODEGAS | El Goru | 38 Barrels | 2018
monastrell | syrah | cabernet sauvignon

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Today we are going to review a quite intriguing red wine blend from the Spain’s not so famous Jumilla wine region on the Mediterranean Coast – El Goru 38 Barrels 2018 by Egobodegas. Jumilla is one of the rising stars of Spain’s wine regions, offering delightfully vibrant wines that are capable to reveal their true potential from their early days as young wines. In the last two decades, Jumilla has built its reputation on three grape varieties: monastrell (also known as mataro in Australia, or mourvèdre in southern France), garnacha (spanish name for grenache) and bobal. The result is a new generation of elegant wines in which the monastrell grape variety is showing remarkable results in the hands of skilled winemakers. This particular wine here is a blend of three grape varieties: monastrell, syrah and cabernet sauvignon, where monastrell forms the wine’s main body and structure, syrah builds a more refined mid-palate and adds black fruit flavors, while cabernet sauvignon delivers more structure and enhances the wine’s color depth. Of course, monastrell is the star variety of this blend, it has adapted so well to Jumilla‘s natural conditions, that this small region is now considered as the second home of this variety, although its origins are most probably in the Levante area, where most of monastrell plantings are concentrated nowadays. In order to add extra complexity to the final blend, this wine has been aged for 12 months in oak barrels, from which only 38 barrels were selected for final release, hence the name of the wine. That said and without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: deep ruby color
clarity: hazy ruby shades

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & vibrant
fruit profile: black fruits | blue fruits
__black fruits: black cherry | blackberry | black plum
__blue fruits: blueberry | blue plum
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | earth | other
__spice: nutmeg | cloves | peppercorn
__oak: roasted oakwood | liquorice
__earth: slate | granite
__other: new leather | varnish
primary layer: fruit

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: high
__grip: grippy
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: plump | full body

//Taste
fruit profile: blue & black fruits
fruit character: ripe
non fruit: savory
finish: medium
aftertaste: crisp

//Scoring
EGOBODEGAS | El Goru | 38 Barrels | 2018
variety: monastrell | syrah | cabernet sauvignon
country: Spain
region: Jumilla
rating: 92.8

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | age for 2 to 4 more years
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Spain and, with a total of 92.8 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a very crisp, ample and voluptuous wine blend, with a rich and vibrant accent on the nose and a plump and seedy mouthfeel. The wine is still in its development phase, therefore it definitely requires at least 2 to 4 more years of bottle ageing in order to round up, but make sure you don’t overdo it, as it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. On the nose the wine brings vibrant notes of ripe blue and black fruits in the foreground, followed by a savory & earthy background and a very subtle, spicy & oaky layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers bright acidity, grippy tannins and a touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which leads to a crisp aftertaste. All in all, this is a well structured, firm and very appealing wine, that in its current state lacks just a bit of elegance on the palate. We believe that this wine will pair nicely with seared meats, like for example a pan fried T-bone steak or a classic seared rib eye steak. Cheers!

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© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.