El Nido Clio Jumilla 2020

A blend of 70% Monastrell and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 24 months in French and American oak. The wine exhibits a glass-coating opaque purple color. The nose is expressive with pain grille, underbrush, brier, minerality, blueberry and blackberry fruit. On the palate is a plush, opulent wine with great density, savory flavors, and a lengthy finish. Bodegas El Nido is a collaboration of the Gil Family and winemaker Chris Ringland, one of the best Australian enologists. The winery is located in the Valle de La Aragona, inside the Murcia district of Jumilla. The vineyards are 76.8 acres of very old Monastrell vines (also known as Mataró or Mourvèdre) all vaso trained and oriented northeast, and 28.8 acres of 30-year old Cabernet Sauvignon vines on north facing hills. The vineyards have a foot deep layer of chalky stones over substrata of sandy soil.

Not yet reviewed; 2019 vintage rated 93 points by Luis Gutiérrez (Wine Advocate): "Next to the 2018, I also tasted the 2019 Clio, a similar blend of 70% Monastrell and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from a vintage marked by torrential rains caused by the DANA storm in September that delivered 200+liters of rain. It fermented in stainless steel with neutral yeasts and matured in French and American oak barrels for 23 months. It's slightly lower in alcohol than the 2018, 15.5%. I think the Cabernet was more noticeable here and it added a certain freshness to the wine, which, coupled with a little less alcohol, made the wine come through as a little cooler and more continental. All within the Chris Ringland style, of course... 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2020. Drink: 2022-2028."