2021 Venus La Universal Dido Montsant [WA94]

Producer: Venus La Universal 
Region: Montsant, Catalonia, Spain 
Blend: 70% Garnatxa, 20% Syrah & a combined 10% Carignan, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon
Year: 2021 

Retail Price: $30.00
Our Price: $16.99* 

Venus La Universal is a husband and wife team.  Sara Perez and Rene Barbier are the children of two great pioneers of the Priorat region.  Both Sara and Rene are ver well respected vignerons in their own right so starting a project together seemed natural.  Sara Perez is considered by many to be the most important woman winemaker in Spain.  Instead of focusing their attention on the region made famous by their fathers, they staked their claim in its sleepier neighbor, Montsant.  Montsant is frequently overshadowed by Priorat, but people are starting to realize the potential of the region and it is drawing countless winemakers to the area.  They produce elegant, complex and beautifully perfumed reds that are among Spain's most riveting bargains.  Montsant wines can go toe to toe with Priorat wines at a fraction of the cost.  Eric Asimov, of The New York Times, described the relationship of Priorat and Montsant as similar to Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas.  He wrote, "Priorat has a less expensive neighbor, Montsant, which offers wines made from a similar set of grapes that can be quite delicious in their own right. The relationship of Priorat and Montsant is not unlike that of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas."  Venus La Universal has met with effusive praise from critics for their Montsant wines.  These wines are incredibly elegant, refined, and sensual expressions of Montsant with restrained alcohol and tremendous texture.  The 2021 Venus La Universal Dido Montsant is a serious, mineral red that transcends price point.  It has a nuanced and subtle nose with herbal and floral notes.  This wine has delicious fruit and extraordinary freshness and purity.  It's a mouth-watering, juicy wine that is their tribute to Grenache.  Enjoy!

Wine Advocate, 94 Points 

"The granite soils from Montsant used for the 2021 Dido accentuates more the effect of the years, so this 2021 is sharp, austere and reductive, with a paler color. It has moderate ripeness and 12.8% alcohol, a nuanced and subtle nose with herbal and floral notes, a spicy pinch and a medium-bodied palate with some grainy tannins with a chalky texture. They play a lot with concrete, with about 40% of the volume, and the rest is in oak containers of different sizes, from 300- to 4,000-liter ones. This is a serious, mineral red that transcends its price point. 101,892 bottles and some larger formats were produced. It was bottled between December 2020 and January 2021." 

Winemaker Notes: 

"Our tribute to youth, tenacity, love and Grenache. The wine, from plots in Falset, exhibits delicious fruit and is aged in a combination of barrels and clay amphorae to maintain an extraordinary freshness and purity." 

Alcohol: 13% 

*Price and availability in store may vary. Discounts do not apply to wines like this one currently on sale.