Today's wine holds a very special place in my heart. I first visited winemaker Sara Pérez in 2017 during a soul-searching, three-month Spanish sabbatical fueled by my passion for Spanish wine, food, and culture. She showed me everything, from her esteemed Mas Martinet winery in Priorat to the wines of La Universal, the underdog Montsant project on which she partners with her husband, René Barbier (of the famed Clos Mogador, also in Priorat).
La Universal is their passion project, their desire to show the powerful femininity of Montsant through a bottle of wine and their clear expression of a family effort. Their “Dido Blanco” is a lively, appropriately voluptuous example of what Garnatxa Blanca (Grenache Blanc) and other indigenous varieties from this region can achieve, all while clocking in at a very attractive price. As the steward of an all-Spanish wine list, I often find myself placing wines like this in some more-familiar context to put customers at ease; this one has textural elements reminiscent of whites from France’s Rhône Valley, but ultimately it veers off in its own direction, at once lush and full of nerve. And that, of course, is the whole point: There’s really nothing else like it, which is why I love it. If you’re drawn to the “new and exciting” section of the wine list, this one is for you!
Like Steph Curry in the early years of his basketball career, the wines of the Montsant are wildly underrated. Often compared to the flashier, more-expensive wines of the neighboring Priorat, this underdog region of Catalunya often doesn't get the full respect it deserves. The Montsant is distinct in that is literally surrounds Priorat, yet is made up of almost a completely different soil type—offering a softer, more elegant style often ready to drink while young and fresh. It is a region I take guests when they are searching for value, for a suave bottle of wine that will neither overpower the meal nor break the bank. And while the region is stocked full of high-value wines, there is no better introduction than the wines of La Universal.
As mentioned above, La Universal is led by superstar wife-and-husband team Sara Pérez and René Barbier, progeny of two of the most prominent winemaking families in the region. Their vineyards are located in the Falset area, in the southern part of the Montsant and not far from Priorat itself. Vines are between 25 and 70 years old. Sara and René converted the vineyards to full organics a number of years ago, resulting in wines of place and terruño (the Spanish way to say terroir). The soils are decomposed granite, giving the wines the bright structure, deep flavors and complex aromatics they deserve.
The Dido Blanco is made up of Macabeo, Garnatxa Blanca and Cartoixà (the local variant of Xarel-lo, which is found elsewhere in Spain, especially Penedès). Grapes are macerated on the skins for several days during fermentation and aged in a mix of large barrels of varying sizes (70%) and clay amphorae (30%). Fresh baked apples, herbs, and tropical fruit are present on the nose. On the palate the wine is complex and fresh, still herbal with fresh fruit and balanced acidity. Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to sit down with Sara, René, and some very close friends for dinner at their house. We ate in a room above the winery, and just outside were grazing sheep, large dogs, and the vineyards of La Universal. One of my favorite dishes of the night was green peas and favas topped with baby octopus, but as we are nearing winter and favas are not a thing right now, the attached recipe for Spanish white bean salad should be a proper substitute—the baby octopus addition is up to you. Enjoy!
