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| Juan Gil 100th Anniversary Wine |
Hello Desert Wine Guy fans. Today I have a very special review to share with you guys. Today we are going to take a trip to Spain. Well we aren't really going to Spain, Spain is actually coming to us. Today I want to talk about the Gil Family Estate Winemaker Tasting and Dinner that I was invited to by JoLynne Howe of Silver Lining Communications (
http://www.silverliningcommunications.com/). Let me first begin this review by telling you who JoLynn is and what her company does. JoLynne is the founder of Silver Lining Communications which is a business that specializes in launching or revitalizing businesses or brands as well as putting together a solid and cohesive business plans for these businesses and clients. Judging by how this event went and how the great things that are being reviewed here, JoLynn has done a wonderful job for this client. Before moving onto the review I want to say one last thing. In keeping with my promise and long standing policy I also want to disclose that JoLynn was kind enough to comp my wife and I to attend this event and we do appreciate it very much. Have no worries readers because as ALWAYS you will be getting my honest opinions about everything that my wife experienced on this night. Now let's move into this review.
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| Spain Wine Map |
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| Plastic Sneaker W/Croquetas de Pollo chicken-bechamel fritters |
The Gil Family Estate Winemaker Tasting and Dinner was held here in Las
Vegas at Bazaar Meat (
http://slslasvegas.com/dining/bazaar-meat), which
is located inside the SLS Hotel. Let's start off this review with a little bit of history. For those of you who may not have visited Las Vegas in some time the SLS Casino is actually the old Sahara Hotel. For those of you who have never heard of The Bazaar Meat restaurant where this event was held I should note that it is the the
recipient of Wine Spectator Magazine "Best of Award Excellence" as well as being
voted one of the "Top 5 Steakhouses in America". To say that I am
honored as well as flattered to be invited by JoLynn is an
understatement. To start off with here is the menu CLICK HERE: (
http://cdn.slslasvegas.com/db/content/uploads/2016/04/SLS_LV-FB-265-Bazaar-Gil-Wine-Dinner-Menu.pdf) that Mrs. Desert Wine Girl and myself were treated to. Just take a look at this menu everyone. Is this not a really gorgeous looking menu?
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| Cotton Candy Foie Gras Crispy Amaranth |
The reason the Gil Family Estates Winery t
http://gilfamily.es/en/) came down to Las Vegas was to show off the family's wines and to celebrate 100 years in the wine making business. Founded in 1916 and located in the municipality of Ateca which is in Zaragoza, Spain the Gil family has received high awards for their wines including scoring 92 points for their 2012 Alaya Tierra which comes from their Bodegas Winery which is located in the southern Spanish region of Almansa from Wine Spectator Magazine. The wine gets it's name from the Limestone soil that the old vines used
to grow the grapes in. The vines are at about 3,500 feet above sea level
as well. In 2014 the Gil family had over 16 wines that earned over 90 points by the publication entitled International Wine Cellar. The Gil Family Estates originally founded by Juan Gil Gimenez the great-grandfather of the current generation, built the original winery in Jumilla. Currently the Estate consists of 10 wineries with three more in development. They have also nearly tripled sales from 2010 and report a growth of 20% from 2013
to 2014 with sales of over 7.5 million bottles, or 625,000 standard
cases, of wine. The Gil Family Estates is now managed by the 4th generation of family. The company is now headed by Miguel and Angel Gil.
he Gil Family Estate Winemaker Tasting and Dinner is that representatives of the Gil Family winery.
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| Beautiful Table For Gil Family Estates Winemakers Dinner |
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| Vegetable & Fruit For Bazaar Meat |
When Mrs. Desert Wine Girl and I checked in at the Bazaar Meat counter we were informed that we were a little early and that the private event room was not ready and that it was still being prepared. No big deal so in the meantime we decided to sit at the bar affiliated with the restaurant. Here is where we experienced the only problem of the night. According to the Bartender there is only one Cabernet Sauvignon available by the glass. That wine is the 2012 Leviathon which by the way sells for about $45 a bottle. The wine itself wouldn't be worthy of mention EXCEPT for the fact that the glass of wine cost $32! Yeah....you read that correctly....$32!!.....for a glass a wine. (This cost was not affiliated with the Gil Family) Well anyway, we waited about 10 minutes and a sharply dressed young lady approached us and informed us that our table was ready and asked us to follow her. We were escorted us to a medium sized private room.
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| Meat on The Grill At Bazaar Meat |
As you can see from the picture the table was set up very professionally and upon entering the room we were greeted by a waitress and offered a glass of Champagne. We were than introduced to Felix Jimenez who is in charge of U.S Business Development as well as the U.S. Brand Ambassador for Gil Family Estates, Jordi Flores who is the General Manager of Oro Wines and Larry Moraes who is part owner of Blue Ventures Wine Marketing. We also had the honor of meeting Michael Rone who is the Sommelier for Bazaar Meat. These gentleman presented themselves with the utmost professionalism, were very interesting and showed tremendous passion and knowledge concerning their company's as well as the wine industry, These gentleman carried themselves with dignity and class. I must say that I was truly impressed. After the introduction and talking with these gentleman my Wife and I walked around and we came to the Gil Family Estates, Juan Gil 100th Anniversary
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| Aged Japanese Beef |
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| King Crab Leg w/Dijonnaise |
wine. The wine is 27 Liters (around 7 gallons or 35 bottles) and displayed in a clear front refrigerated case with a spigot and was served by the glass after being poured into a pitcher. The 100th Anniversary wine is a blend and according to Jordi it took a little over 1 year to decide on the makeup of this blend. The wine when sold by the standard 750 Ml size bottle costs around $17 per bottle was simply AWESOME (see more about this wine further down). You can easily tell that a lot of thought and planning went into this wine with the body, Tannins, notes and the passion that you can taste in it will last for years to come. Guests were given about 30 minutes to mingle with each other and during that time we were offered Cotton Candy Foie Gras Crispy Amaranth which I am sorry to say I passed on as I am not a big eater of sweets. From what the all guests said they thought it was a wonderful way to start off the night. The other guests also commented that they also thought the idea was unique and a nice way to show off the uniqueness of the Chef as well as the coming dishes. I was told by som
e of the wait staff that it is a velvety cube of Cotton that is stuck onto a long stick and rolled in
crushed corn nuts. After that it is put through a cotton candy machine that adds a pillowy
layer of vanilla-scented filaments. One other item that was brought around was the Croquetas de Pollo chicken-bechamel fritters which were served in a clear, hard plastic sneaker, yep that's right, A PLASTIC SNEAKER! These were lightly breaded, hot and delicious and went with the Champagne that was served to us upon initially entering the room. As we were waiting to be seated and throughout the night I had the
opportunity as well to speak at length with one of the Bazaar Meat
Sommeliers (they have two) named Michael Rone. What a wealth of
knowledge he was and I will address Michael a little more at the end of this review.
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| Gil Vera Family |
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| The Desert Wine Guy & The Gil Family Estate 27L 100th Anniversary WIne |
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| 2012 Juan Gil 18 Meses |
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| 2011 Atteca Armas |
It was now time to be seated for Dinner. We were presented with Super-Giant Pork Skin Chicharron (18"x24") with Greek Yogurt, Za'atar Spices', Clams with Leche de tigre which is called "Tigers Milk"
and also is the Peruvian term for the citrus-based marinade that cures the seafood in a ceviche. Also known as leche
de pantera, this leftover fish runoff usually contains lime juice,
sliced onion, chiles, salt, and pepper along with a bit of fish juice. It is also believed to be a hangover cure as well as an aphrodisiac. This came along with Fresno Pepper and Cilantro. I do not like clams so I cannot give you my opinion on them but Mrs Desert Wine Girl said that the clams were "excellent" and that she thoroughly enjoyed it. By the Way Mrs. Desert Wine Girl happens to love clams and she is very picky when it comes to their freshness and texture. I can tell you that the presentation was simply and elegant as I believe it was meant to be. The King Crab leg and Dijonnaise also presented with this dish was pre-sliced inside the leg and came out easily with your Fork in nice sized pieces to dip and fill your mouth. The Clam and King Crab leg were served on a large bed of ice to keep everything as they should be. Texture of the King Crab was very nice and it was not soggy or overly salty. The Chicharron was very light and tasted great with the Albarino (a varietal of White wine) which I will talk about now. This dish was served with a brilliant, crisp White Wine, the 2014 Gil Family Estates Kentia Albarino. Albarino as I said is a White varietal which is grown in Northwest Spain and Northwest Portugal. The Albarino is believed to be a Riesling clone as well. I must say the the 2014 Kentia Albarino hit the spot and was the perfect pairing with this dish. The wine was served nice and cold which I normally do not like however with this varietal it appears to be perfect and added more intensiveness to the crisp note. The wine itself was crisp and had wonderful minerally notes with a hint of Grapefruit. Larry informed me that the wine sold for around $12 retail.
The next meal on the menu was the Venison Chorizo Tartare. This course was served with the 2012 Juan Gil 18 Meses which is a blend of Shiraz/Syrah (10%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) and Monastrell (60%). The wine was aged in French and American Oak for 18 months. Folks I have to tell you that I have never in all my wine reviews experienced a wine with as wonderful a bouquet as this wine exhibited. This wine came from the Jumilla region of Spain. Cherry jam galore, dried dark fruit like Blackberries, Blueberries, Chocolate and Black Pepper. This wine put itself on display for all to experience. I have to get ahold of this wine for a more thorough review.......and for me to enjoy of course. The Venison Chorizo Tartare was another great dish and really surprised me because I didn't think that eating raw Deer would be appetizing, boy was I mistaken. This dish was fresh, cold and every spice and detail was appreciated on my Palette. By the way there were no offensive spices or flavors that took away from the beautiful Venison flavor.
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| Angel & Miguel Gil Vera |
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| Rossejat w/Baby Pork ribs |
Moving onto the third course now. This course was presented with the 2011 Atteca Armas which we probably know as the varietal Garnacha (100% Garnacha). Fermented in Stainless Steel tanks this wine also spends 18 months aging in French Oak and had a totally irresistible Bouquet as well. These grapevines are located at altitudes between 2,460 and 3,280 feet above sea level. The wine was once again full of exploding dark fruit and another "must get". Served with this wine was the Rossejat (
sautéed noodle casserole). Once again a dish presented with nice, appetizing presentation and simply appetizing to the max. This dish was served with housemade Butifarra which is a Spanish (or Catalan) Sausage. The dish consisted of roasted vermicelli like noodles called Fideos which were broken into 3 inch lengths. Along side the Rossejat there was Baby Pork Ribs that were juicy, tender and cooked perfectly and flavored to perfection. There were no offensive or "hot" spices to hinder the flavor of the meat and this also went perfectly with the wine. The broth that the noodles were cooked in had a hint of salt and spices that when combined together made for a wonderful flavor. Here is another dish that I completely enjoyed and when combined with the 2011 Atteca Armas which was fruit forward and bursting with notes of dark fruit simply set the Rossejat off. The fruit forwardness/dark fruit notes seem to be a common theme in these reds from Spain.
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| Steamed Buns w/Pork & Vegetables |
Now for the final course before Dessert. This course was served with the prized 2013 Juan Gil 100th Anniversary Red. Filled directly from the dispenser I mentioned in an above section this specially blended wine is a blend of 50% Monastrell, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Syrah. This wine is available for around $16 from some wine retailers on line and is from the Jumilla region of Spain. I highly recommend that you buy at least three bottles and put them away for at least another 5 years although the wine is very drinkable now if you should so choose. This great wine was served with Oven Roasted Merino Lamb. It's sort of weird because Merino Lamb is actually known for it's Wool however prices have fallen drastically for the Wool marketing aspect and farmers are now focusing on selling the meat at and at very high prices. Whatever the reason Marino Lamb is now considered a delicacy and the lamb on my plate was very nice and tender. The texture was soft, juicy and prepared perfectly. The Lamb was served with Hoisin Cumberland sauce that complimented the Lamb yet without overpowering that super Lamb taste.
Our last dish was of course Dessert and I wish I could give it a thumbs up like the rest of the dishes but I cannot. I thought it was.....disgusting. The dish served was Buffalo Milk Burrata (buttered) Cheese. What is Burrata Cheese? Well that is a good question. In this case it is Mozzarella Cheese made with Buffalo Milk however Burrata cheese takes the mozzarella one step further, it's Mozzarella
that's formed into a pouch and then filled with soft, stringy curd and
cream. To me and Mrs Desert Wine Girl the dish was bitter and it's flavor was overbearing. The outside was a almost solid outer core almost plasticy (if that is a word) and was soft inside. This is how the dish is meant to be served by the way. While it was definitely formed as it was supposed to be and presented very professionally the whole dish was very anticlimactic and disappointing in my opinion as well as Mrs Desert Wine Girls opinion. I'm sorry I wish I could report different but I cannot. It is sad that such a wonderful Dinner was ended with such a bad dessert. While it was exotic and did take thought and planning I could have thought of many other Desserts that would have paired well with the 100th Anniversary wine but this Dessert was not it. Please note that this Dessert should not be interpreted as a knock on the wine itself because the wine was top notch it is simply a shame that the Restaurant chose to pair it with the wonderful wine. This Dessert was served with Hazelnut Preline and Baby Japanese Peaches. The Peaches were small, about the size of a grape and sweet. I thought they were very sweet, fresh and enjoyable. I'm sorry guys but that was what I got from the Dessert, I wish I had better things to say about it..
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| Buffalo Milk Burrata w/Baby Peaches |
So here is my wrap up of the evening. First thing that I have to mention is that the charge of $32 for a so so glass of wine was CRAZY and an outrage and MUST be fixed. The service that Mrs Desert Wine Girl and I experienced was honestly impeccable. All the staff was dressed very nicely and with clothing that seemed to have been bought for that particular employee. All the staff appearances appeared clean and taken care of. While the uniform statement may sound weird here is what I mean by it. Have you ever noticed that when you go to a business where the employees wear uniforms that a company buys it seems to appear that the sleeves or pants don't fit correctly (short) or it appears that the company recycled them? That is because they do. Casinos here in Las Vegas are known for that, you turn in your uniform prior to getting your last paycheck and they are reissued. If you have glanced at the entire menu (
http://cdn.slslasvegas.com/db/content/uploads/2016/04/SLS_LV-FB-042-Bazaar-Meat-Menu_032416-web.pdf) the prices that Bazaar Meat charges for their food (although sometimes justified) you will understand why perfection and massive attention to detail is absolutely a must and there is no room for compromise. To Bazaar Meats credit that was the case here. The staff appeared to really enjoy and take pride in their job especially Michael, our Sommelier who I spent a lot of time talking to and learning from throughout the night and who I also spoke of in the first few paragraphs. My wife said and I agree that the staff was also very kind.
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| Wonderful Merino Lamb |
The Gil Family representatives were informative and Jordi would stand up at the table and give presentations on each wine and answered everyone questions on the subject of wine as well as the industry. Both Jordi and Felix were not afraid to mingle with everyone and truly were friendly and appeared to love talking to their customer base and were very honest about the wine industry. I cannot say enough great things about them. I thank them for coming down and presenting and sharing their wines with us.
I next want to talk about Larry Moraes who is co-owner of Blue Venture Wine Marketing (
http://www.blueventureswinemarketing.com/). To say that Mr. Moraes is the O.G :) of his chosen field would be an understatement. Larry engaged me in conversation for a good part of the night and never seemed to grow tired of teaching me about the wine/wine marketing industry. Larry and I had some very poignant conversations about his chosen field of expertise and I will always be grateful for that. The industry information that I gathered from Larry is indispensable to me.
The Sommelier of Bazaar Meats is Michael Rone whom I mentioned earlier. Michael is a young man who truly has passion and drive to be in his chosen industry. Aside from Michael taking excellent care of his guests and having outstanding wine knowledge Michael also shared some personal photos with me of his own grapevines. When Michael was not walking around and ensuring along with Jordi and Felix that the wine presentation was correct he was discussing wine with Larry Moraes and I. If Bazaar Meats is smart they will ensure that Michael remains a happy and well taken care of employee.
The Desert Wine Guy
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There is a hint of acidity as well here that brightens this wine in your mouth and puts a dryness on the back Palette and on the finish. On the sides of my Tongue I picked up a slight tartness that I also really liked. On the bottle of this wine it says "Oak aged over 18 months". It does
not state the type of Oak however and why doing the tasting I did not
sense any Oak at all in my mouth. This might be because the Oak was
either old or had a lower "toasting" level. Going back to the "sweetness" note for a minute and bringing this article to a close I will say that while as I stated I really didn't mind it much but I do have to say that I do think it was slightly over the top but not nearly enough to make this wine anywhere near undrinkable. I do believe however that it was enough however to deduct 2 points from the overall rating on The Desert Wine Guy rating scale. 
