2018 Ego Bodegas Goru 38 Barrels Jumilla 750 ml

To make bold, ripe, powerful wines, you need a warm climate with plenty of sun—and it’s hard to find a sunnier, warmer winegrowing region than Jumilla, in southeastern Spain.

Two hours south of—and even hotter than—sun-soaked Valencia, Ego Bodegas is quickly staking a claim as one of the finest producers in Jumilla. Their old vines dig into the dark, limestone-studded soil, producing reds that wowed us with their concentration and rich blue and black fruit.

Today we have a special opportunity: an allocation of Ego’s Goru 38 Barrels, a limited selection of top lots of Monastrell (aka Mourvèdre), Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Wine Enthusiast called it “profound on the palate” in their 93-point review, which tied it with bottles costing $65 and $75 as the highest scoring from Jumilla’s 2018 vintage. 

Monastrell thrives in the searing climes of Jumilla, which receives 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, ripening beautifully while keeping a lively streak of acidity thanks to the area’s high elevation and wide diurnal temperature swings. The results, Raynolds said, are “deeply fruity, concentrated, and highly perfumed wines that deliver immediate pleasure for ridiculously low prices”—and that perfectly describes the Goru 38 Barrels.

Santos Ortiz and Ioana Paunescu, who launched Ego Bodegas in 2011, have a simple philosophy at the heart of their business: deliver high-quality wines at bargain prices. In less than a decade, the pair has made serious headway in Jumilla, crafting bottlings that not only drink wonderfully upon release but will reward you if you stash them in your cellar for a few years—something you rarely expect from a wine at this price.