Winemaker Notes
A juicy wine, mostly created to be paired with food, especially the Mediterranean traditional cuisine.
Blend: 60% Garnatxa, 40% Carinyena
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The eponymous red 2018 Venus la Universal is a blend of old-vine Cariñena and Garnacha from six plots between the villages of Falset and Marçà on deep clay and limestone soils that have good humidity and allow for a long and slow ripening of the grapes, even more so in the cooler and wet 2018. 2018 wines show tension and are a bit tight, with very good complexity. In 2018 they started to do one year of foudre (after fermenting in oak vat) and one year in concrete, completing an élevage of 30 months. This is very relaxed, balanced, elegant and long, with only 13% alcohol. This is the wine that has changed the most; they harvested early to preserve the freshness after the extremely warm and ripe 2017.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
