Venus La Universal - Montsant 2019 (750ml)
Venus La Universal Description
René and Sara have taken the goddess as their inspiration for this project. One of their stated goals is “to interpret femininity through a bottle of wine”. This might seem an odd choice for a bodega that elaborates Grenache- and Carignan-based wines in Southern Cataluña, but it makes sense once you taste. These are incredibly elegant, refined, sensual expressions of Montsant, with restrained alcohol levels and tremendous texture.
60% Garnatxa, 40% Carinyena • sourced from 4 old-vine parcels on deep clay-limestone that allow long and slow ripening • spontaneous whole-cluster fermentation in neutral 4700L oak vat with some pigeage • 60 days of post-fermentation maceration • aged for six months in the vats followed by an additional 12 months in a combination of 2500L neutral oak foudres and concrete tanks • Practicing Organic
The grapes for Venus come from clay-calcareous soils between Marçà and Guiamets. These soils encourage a slow, elegant and complex ripeness.
Wine Advocate: 94 Points
The Carinena for the 2019 Venus la Universal suffered from a heat wave of extreme temperatures (up to 46 degrees Celsius) and ripening took a long time; the wine has ripeness and a bit of heat, but the wine kept very good acidity. The long elevage of 30 months has calmed the wine down a bit, but it might require a little more time. It shows in the palate some of the sweetness of Garnacha (which represents some 40% of the blend) and the tension of Carinena.
