Uruguay – South America’s Secret Gem
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of attending a Uruguay tasting at the wine club 67 Pall Mall in London. Amanda Barnes, whose book The South America Wine Guide had recently been published, focused on the wines of Uruguay*. And it was quite a revelation to discover the range of white wine styles the country produces, alongside the red, Tannat**-based wines with which I was more familiar. Uruguay, and indeed South America, has no indigenous grape varieties but various settlers from the Basque country and Galicia have brought various grapes with them over the years and Uruguayan producers have also had the chance to experiment, with very interesting results.
Uruguay has a relatively temperate climate and cool breezes and some altitude make it possible to grow cooler-climate varieties such as Chardonnay, Riesling, Albariño and Pinot Noir there. Overall these form a minor part of the picture while Tannat is the most planted variety with some 1600 hectares, followed by the international varieties, Merlot (600 ha), Cabernet Sauvignon (330 ha) and Cabernet Franc (200 ha).
Canelones/Montevideo is the dominant area of production in the country but Amanda wanted to showcase the wines of the upcoming and highly promising Maldonado region. Maldonado lies in the southeast by the Atlantic and has a maritime climate with generally mild temperatures and cool breezes that moderate the heat in summer. The land also rises to quite high altitudes and has considerable geological diversity. Soils include granite, crystalline rocks, quartz, calcareous clay and gravel and alluvial types. Drainage tends to be good.
We tasted a diverse range of white and red wines and among the whites, we enjoyed a good orange wine from Proyecto Nakkal (Nakcool) which, unusually, blended the aromatics of Muscat Ottonell with Ugni Blanc for acidity and Viognier for body, a less successful Pet Nat from Cerro Chapeu, a very good single vineyard Albariño from Garzoñ, an outstanding Riesling from Bouza and a very good Chablis-style Chardonnay from Cerro del Toro made on the marine limestone of Maldonaldo. Sadly at c.£33 a bottle in the UK it’s not great value.
Among the reds, we tasted the Non-Intervention Merlot from Bracco Bosco which was too natural for my taste and a single vineyard Petit Verdot from Garzón which, despite coming in at 14.5% alcohol, retained its acidity well and was less voluptuous than other New World examples I’ve had. The last four wines were all Tannat-related and showed the variety of styles available. As noted above Tannat is a very tannic variety due partly to the grape having five seeds rather than the normal two to three and Pizzorno’s lighter Mayusculas which uses carbonic maceration to boost the fruitiness, worked well. As did the Viña Progreso Barrel-less Tannat which was my favourite of the reds on show. The tasting finished with two bigger wines: the Monte Vide Eu from Bouza, a powerful 55% Tannat/Merlot/Tempranillo blend with great structure, new oak notes and yet strong acidity (which I found in all the wines), giving it a degree of freshness; and finally the Pisano Tannat RPF, a classic example of ageworthy Tannat.
My favourites from the tasting are below. Unfortunately, only 20% or so of Uruguayan wines are exported and finding them in the UK is not that easy. Try Wines of Uruguay as a starting point.
Whites
Garzón Single Vineyard Reserva Albariño 2022
This comes from granite soils in Maldonado similar to those in Albariño’s native Galicia. It has sharp acidity with green apple and pear notes and good middle palate depth from 8 months on its lees. Definitely up there with the best Albariños from Spain and excellent value. Currently available in the UK from GP Brands, and Vinum.
Bouza Pan de Azucar Riesling 2020
The Bouza family hails from Galicia and also make wines from a range of other varieties including Tannat and South America’s first Albariño. This is from a vineyard just 7km from the sea and cooled by the virazón wind. For me this is an outstanding example of dry Riesling with full-on petrol and gym mat aromas and sparkling acidity. It could hold its own with the most serious German Rieslings and should age beautifully. Amanda mentioned that she’d tasted the 2013 recently and that was still very youthful. Currently available in the UK from Jeroboams.
Reds
Viña Progreso Underground Barrel-less Tannat 2020
From Canelones near Montevideo and to the west of Maldonado this wine comes from the personal project of Gabriel Pisano who is also a winemaker at Pisano Family Wines. This wine is cold macerated on the skins for 20 days and fermented at cool temperatures in concrete vats using indigenous yeasts and low sulphites. It is then matured for up to a year in concrete. Th wine is full-bodied with plenty of tannic grip but remains quite fresh and exhibits the dark – blackberry and plum – fruits typically of Tannat. Excellent. Sadly it’s not currently available in the UK. But watch this space!
Pisano Tannat RPF (Reserva Personal de la Familia) 2020
This is a fine example of the classic Uruguayan Tannat style. Concentrated black fruits with good acidity underpinned by a strong tannins and vanilla notes from the new oak in which it is matured for 10-12 months, followed by 6 months in bottle. One to lay down for at least 5 or 6 years. Currently available in the UK from Fine Wine Direct. Wine Searcher had a link for RPF to the Wine Society but it brought up another of the Pisano wines – Progreso Tannat Reserve. I haven’t tried it but the price looks very attractive.
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