Venus La Figuera 2021
43.23₣ (Exc. VAT bot. 75 cl.) / Switzerland
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The pure Garnacha 2021 Venus de La Figuera comes from a vineyard on limestone soils at 600 meters above sea level in the village of La Figuera, on very shallow soils. They do a soft vinification because the tannins tend to have a lot of grip. This matured in clay amphorae, as they removed the oak foudre to make it more streamlined. It has a complex and developed nose that transported me to the more elegant Garnacha wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Rayas? Yup!), with an ethereal quality, a floral and meaty nose with hints of brick dust and a very elegant, somewhat ethereal palate with tannins that are finer than ever. The label mentions 13% alcohol, but it's really not alcoholic at all, with the freshness from the year. This has to be the finest vintage to date. A really pretty Garnacha.
Features
Type of wine
Style
Occasions
Winery
Size
Appellation
Alcohol
13.0%
Grapes
Serving
Between 14ºC and 16ºC
Winemaking
Fermented in open 500-litre barrels with a skin maceration lasting 30-35 days. Aged for 18 months in amphorae.
Description
Venus de La Figuera, the most ethereal and radical project of Venus La Universal, is born at the top of the small village of La Figuera, 600 metres above sea level on white clay and limestone soils. Sara Pérez and René Barbier Jr., two essential names in Catalonia's contemporary wine scene, found a different Garnacha in this vineyard: lighter, more vertical, more mineral. It was there that they decided to explore a new way of understanding wine, leaving oak aside, opting for ceramics and listening to the grape's whisper rather than its cry.
After trying with amphorae ageing in the first vintages -2014 and 2015- and noticing that the wine was too closed and dense, they opted for an even more subtle way: in 2020 they introduced whole-cluster maceration, and applied a very slow and leisurely fermentation, with minimal extraction. The objective was one: to capture the intangible. The result, an aerial and deeply expressive Garnacha, without the usual weight of the variety.
Winemaking
Venus La Figuera is made from 100% Garnatxa, fermented with great inclusion of stems in 500 L open barrels. Around 30% of the grapes are pressed and the must is added to the blend to soften the extraction. Ageing is carried out for 18 to 20 months in locally fired, unlined clay amphorae, seeking a neutral ageing process that enhances the expression of the terroir rather than the container.
Taste
Venus de La Figuera displays unusual elegance on the nose: dried flowers, sour cherry, cured meat, earth and limestone. The palate is fluid, with extremely fine tannins, enveloping texture and a clean acidity that lengthens the wine effortlessly. Nothing stands out, everything floats. Altura in every sense of the word, this is a wine that does not seek to impress by its power, but to move by its subtlety. Garnacha at its most delicate, almost spiritual.
Shipping to Switzerland
50% discount on orders over 377.00₣*Estimated transit time: 6-7 working days.
| Bottles | Price | Over 377.00₣* |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | 22.76₣ | 11.38₣ (-11.38₣) |
| 7-12 | 28.18₣ | 14.09₣ (-14.09₣) |
| 13-18 | 34.78₣ | 17.39₣ (-17.39₣) |
| 19-24 | 43.73₣ | 21.87₣ (-21.87₣) |
| 25-30 | 49.01₣ | 24.51₣ (-24.51₣) |
| 31-36 | 54.67₣ | 27.33₣ (-27.33₣) |
| 37-42 | 58.44₣ | 29.22₣ (-29.22₣) |
| 43-48 | 60.32₣ | 30.16₣ (-30.16₣) |
| 49-54 | 65.98₣ | 32.99₣ (-32.99₣) |
| 55-60 | 71.63₣ | 35.82₣ (-35.82₣) |
| VAT not included | ||
** Shipments to Switzerland include transport costs, insurance and export costs (SAD in origin), but not customs duties (SAD at destination) and local taxes.
***At Gourmet Hunters wine prices are exempt from 21% VAT for all shipments to Switzerland. Once in your shopping cart select Switzerland as delivery address to enjoy your order tax free.
