Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  11/3/2009 (link)

  (VENUS Venus la Universal) Venus Dear Friends, This is a winery to watch - closely. With a family tree that would make Prince Charles envious (if he landed in the wine trade), Sara Perez and Rene Barbier are the Brad-Jolina couple of Spanish winemaking - young and accomplished with enviable energy and passion. Their gleaming project, Venus la Universal, is poised to make a major dent on the international scene and the wines are as serious as the owner's pedigree. Rene's family history at Clos Mogador goes without saying and Sara's experience as enologist at Cims de Porrera, Val Llach, Mas Martinet and others allowed her to hone a style built on terroir and subtlety. She's walked the vineyards of Priorat and this region for over 20 years and she knows an old-vine when she sees it. With a personal philosophy somewhat divergent from the desires of her winery clients (who want bigger wines), she saved the expression of her own low-alcohol style for Venus la Universal. The goal of Perez and Barbier is to showcase each plot and each vintage regardless of variation, even in a difficult year (which we certainly do not have below). While they've bottled Venus since 1999, it was not until the 2004 vintage that they really found their mark and entered the highest level of competition with their family. With a Cote Rotie meets Priorat philosophy and a no-nonsense, hands-off approach to winemaking, Perez and Barbier have secured what amounts to the cr_me-de-la-cr_me of Montsant holdings, some as high as 2400 ft above sea level. The style is decidedly feminine for Spain and all of the grapes are naturally farmed and vinified organically without additions of any kind. Bottled in beautiful, off-sized 1800's inspired glass, the Venus is a conversation starter on the dinner table - it is also a terrific buy in a crowded field of over-priced anonymity. From a great vintage (one of the finest in the last 20), the 2004 "Venus" is their top wine - a Priorat-a-like in queen's clothing. With only 13.0% alcohol, the comparisons to Priorat end there (where 15% alcohol has become the norm). From a blend of Syrah and old-vine Carignan planted in the 1930's, the grapes are grown on a bed of schist that would not be out of place in Sancerre or the Mosel - the minerality in the Venus is something to behold. This is a lovely, expressive wine full of small red berry fruit and sifted rock that delightfully dances upon your wanting palate like a modern reinvention of the foxtrot. The nose is so captivating, you can sit with it for an hour without talking a sip - which I recommend. It is a graceful and feminine example (for such a grand effort) with the type of complexity so often absent from the vast majority of the world's wines. I've watched the 2004 Venus for the last few years and it's finally in a place that deserves to be experienced by the public. A coming out party of sorts from a husband and wife team that could walk off into the sunset without proving anything to anyone...except their own family tree. Only 25 cases for the entire US (do not confuse this with the entry-level "Dido") ONE SHIPMENT ONLY with perfect provenance at this cellar-door price (about half of typical US discount retail): 2004 Venus la Universal "Venus" Montsant Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Spain8537