When it comes to wine, South America is on the move.
Argentina has made a big splash with Malbec; Chile has made a lesser but still significant impact with Carmenere; and now Uruguay is poised to impress with Tannat. Tannat? You ask. Isn’t that a resident of an apartment building?
Actually, it is a good but underappreciated red wine grape. Tannat is best known as the principal red grape of the Madiran region in southwest France near the Pyrénées. In Madiran, wines made with tannat (named for its high tannin content) tend toward a more rustic profile – robust, tough, dark, dense, and tannic – with flavors of raspberry and benefitting from several years of aging.
In researching this column, I was impressed to find Uruguay is the fourth-largest wine-producing country in South America, behind Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. It is located on the Atlantic coast between Brazil to the north and Argentina to the south. Although wine grapes have been grown there for over 250 years, commercial winemaking dates to the 1870s with the arrival of Spanish immigrants. Thus, the introduction of tannat is attributed to Basque immigrants, as the grape is believed to have originated in northern Spain. In addition to tannat, mostly French grapes like cabernet sauvignon, merlot, sauvignon blanc, and viognier are grown. Also gaining favor among the whites is the Spanish grape albariño.
In contrast to Argentina and Chile, most Uruguayan wine is consumed by the county’s 3.5 million residents. And something like 90 percent of the grapes for that wine is grown in vineyards in the south of the country not far from the capital Montevideo and along the coast in the Canelones, Montevideo, Colonia, Maldonado, Florida and San Jose departments. The most important viticultural region is Canelones, a short drive from Montevideo (which also makes it convenient for tourists) but notable wineries are springing up inland to the west and east along the coast, including Carmelo, near the border with Argentina, and outside the resort town of Punta del Este on the coast.
And the over 200 wineries are almost exclusively small, family-owned producers. I’m told that Uruguay’s total annual production of 10 million cases is less than that of a single large producer in Chile or Argentina.
Similar to what has happened with malbec in Argentina, Uruguayan wineries’ use of more modern techniques in the vineyard and the cellar work to soften tannat’s harsher tendencies. Also, Uruguay’s warmer conditions (moderated by its coastal, maritime climate) encourage a longer growing season enabling the grape to ripen more reliably. The result typically is still quite intense and concentrated but more stylish, fresh and vibrant and can be enjoyed immediately upon release. I think I also detected savory qualities and pleasant bitterness.
The six Tannats in this tasting are reviewed in alphabetical order. Prices are estimates.
2012 Artesana Tannat ($16). American-owned and founded in 2007 in the Las Brujas district of Canelones, Artesana’s wines are made by its two women winemakers from its sustainably farmed, estate grown grapes. With twelve months in French and American oak, this wine shows strong aromas and concentrated flavors of dark plum, with hints of toasty oak, dusty and meaty notes, and brusque tannins.
2012 Bodega Garzón “Vartietales” ($16). named after the nearby town of Garzon in the Maldonado department about eleven miles from the ocean and the resort of Punta del Este, Bodega Garzón is a dramatic project including nut and olive groves, along with numerous outdoor activities. They are building what the winery says will be the first LEED-certified winery outside of North America. The wine is earthy with dark plum, graphite and charred notes on the nose. It’s riper with powdery tannins and a refined palate.
2013 Gimenez Mendez Alta Reserva ($28). This 75-year-old family winery owns vineyards in four areas of Canelones. This one comes from Las Brujas and presents smoke, meat, spice and racy prune in the nose followed by ripe fruit and a chewy texture on the palate.
2013 “Pueblo del Sol” Reserva ($16). From Familia Deicas, in the Juanico district of the Canelones department, the winery was founded in 1830 has become a leader in the Uruguayan wine industry. This is a rather straightforward but pleasing mix of prune, raisin fruit with accents of meat and chalk. The palate is smooth and fresh.
2013 “Don Prospero” Tannat Malbec ($20). The 105-year-old Pizzorno Family Estate in Canelones produced this 50/50 estate bottled blend showing ripe dark fruits with smoke and herbs. It drinks lively and juicy.
2011 Reinaldo de Lucca Reserve ($24). Located in the El Colorado district of the Canelones department, this is a family whose heritage reaches to Piemonte in Italy. The 75-year-old De Lucca is distinguished by its emphasis on sustainable practices. This wine is quite ripe, sporting a roasted and earthy quality with bright cherry fruit and a firm structure.
Clearly, Uruguay is set to emerge as a world-class wine and food destination. Foreign investment is funding exciting new wine projects, and some wineries are hiring high-profile consultants, such as Paul Hobbs, who is working for Juanico, Michel Rolland (Narbona) and Alberto Antonini (Garzon).
The wines are improving, the coastline is inviting and I keep reading the grass-fed beef is unparalleled (of course, certain Colorado ranchers might have something to say about that!). And the nation is taking another lesson from Argentina and more proactively promoting its wines, especially through Wines of Uruguay (who supplied the wines for this tasting). So expect better availability soon.
And Uruguay is forward looking beyond wine. Last year, The Economist named Uruguay Country of the Year, partly for legalizing same-sex marriage and partly for becoming the first country to legalize the production and the sale of marijuana, saying that those actions have “increased the global sum of human happiness at no financial cost.”
With improving quality and increasing promotion, especially through Wines of Uruguay (who supplied the wines for this tasting), Uruguayan wine is set to emerge on the international stage. Check it out!