🍷 W1NG APRIL ICC TASTING NOTES – WINES OF URUGUAY

On 4^th April 2024 the Wine in Nottingham Group met for the latest tasting of the 2024 season. The theme of this tasting was “The Wines of Uruguay”.

I have already outlined the background for this tasting in the previous post, you can (re)read it by clicking back – so I won’t repeat it here. Suffice to say the wines tasted were chosen as a good quality reflection of what’s available from this emerging country.

Here are my notes:

ALBARIÑO RESERVE 2022 (BODEGA GARZÓN)   –   12.5 %   –   ND John Wines £19
This showed some floral notes on the nose, as well as the usual peach/pear fruit notes. The palate has mineral background to a quite rich stone-fruit centre, with increasing citric, lip-smacking acidity. A good full-ish, food-friendly version of the grape, which by proximity to its tasting last August invites comparisons with the “La Trucha” Albariño. This is indeed similar, and very good – but perhaps not quite sharing La Trucha’s fineness or subtlety.
Ratings:        Quality:  ^16.5/₂₀   Value:  ¹⁶/₂₀

“ESTIVAL” WHITE 2020 (PABLO FALLABRINO)   –   13.5 %   –   Wadebridge Wines £20
This blend of late harvested Gewürztraminer (60%) and Muscat (10%) with early picked Chardonnay (30%) has a very lemon scented, even lemon zest, attack presumably from the Chardonnay. Under that and a little recessed are the sort of ginger and floral hints one would expect from Gewürztraminer. The palate is a little unintegrated and has some lychee softness in the middle, but builds back to a lemon-peel freshness at the finish. This wine is discomforted by appearing after the Albariño, and tasted alone the next day has integrated a little more and appears fresher…
Ratings:        Quality:  ^15.5/₂₀   Value:  ¹⁵/₂₀

MARSELAN RESERVE 2021 (BODEGA GARZÓN)   –   12.5 %   –   ND John Wines £19
The Marselan grape, a Cab. Sauv. x Grenache – newly permitted in Bordeaux, has an open nose with herby hints (rosemary?) and red fruit. The palate has blackberry and sour red plum fruit with fine tannins and warm finish with a mineral and acidic backbone. Rather a nice wine and more satisfying, IMO, than a similarly priced Merlot – whose structural and viticultural qualities it might replace on a Bordeaux Estate? The next day it too was better integrated and resolved, allowing a bit more varietal distinctiveness. Good.
Ratings:        Quality:  ^16.5/₂₀   Value:  ¹⁶/₂₀

“NOTOS” 2020 (PABLO FALLABRINO)   –   13 %   –   Wadebridge Wines £20
Well – this Nebbiolo (with 10% Tannat) had fresh and dried berries on the nose together with (and I don’t think this is prejudgment) Tar and Roses!!! The palate is very dry but there is supple and subtle fruit underpinned with a long strand of fresh acidity and fine tannins lifting the wine into a complex finish. Lovely, not quite Barolo, but showing 90% of that wine’s attractions for 1/2 (?) price. The favourite on the night and mine too…
Ratings:        Quality:  ¹⁷/₂₀   Value:  ^16.5/₂₀

TANNAT RESERVE 2021 (BODEGA GARZÓN)   –   14%   –   ND John Wines £19
This very dark, vin noir has aromas of plums and a raspberry note with a spicy hint. The palate has a tannic profile distinctive of the grape but riper and rounder versions of it than found here in Uruguay (or in SW France) 15 years ago. This allows the fruit profile – the same plums and raspberry – to show too. In fact the wine reminded me of a (younger) 100% Tannat I tasted in Salies-de-Béarn (at Domaine Lapeyre et Guilhemas) last October. That said this is a little four-square at the moment, maybe needing another 2 or 3 years?
Ratings:        Quality:  ¹⁶/₂₀   Value:  ^15.5/₂₀

SINGLE VINEYARD PETIT VERDOT 2020 (BODEGA GARZÓN)   –   14.5 %   –   ND John Wines £27
This highly coloured wine has a spirity, even downright alcoholic, nose which masks a hint of blueberry fruit. The palate has a similar profile with Italianate flavours: leather and spice – masking, rather than complementing hints of blueberry fruit and wood. The woody sense is textural rather than the effect of oak: the wine is in 4th-use large casks for 12-18 months. This wine is very big, with big separate components achieving a long and impressive wine that somehow wasn’t very pleasurable. A day later there was some integration and maybe another half-point of pleasure. One can see what a small amount adds to a Bordeaux blend, but the least interesting red IMO, and quite expensive.
Ratings:        Quality:  ^15.5/₂₀   Value:  ^14.5/₂₀

A rather interesting tasting I thought, and in the opinion of the group too. A range of well made wines with distinctive character and – in the main – showing quality and interest throughout. Certainly in my mind it aroused an interest in the capability of Uruguay in the wine market and a curiosity to taste further…. Arinarnoa anyone?

À Bientôt

FEBRUARY TUTORED TASTING – VERTICAL MADIRAN

On Monday February 4th the WING Tutored Tasting Group met for a Madiran Tasting, led by Laurie and showing wines from Domaine Pichard. The featured wines were their Traditional Cuvée from 2007 – 2011 and a special Cuvée from 2004: “Auguste Vigneau”.

Madiran is a wine area in South-West France, North of Pau and about 60 miles East, inland, from the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately a 25 mile sided square, just South of the Armagnac area and comprises 38  communes and straddles 3 departments (Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées & Pyrénées-Atlantiques). A village in the centre of the area gives Madiran its name, but is the appellation for red wines only – whites from exactly the same area are called Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh.

The climate is warm and dry, although less so than further inland, in Gaillac for example. The area is made up of five large, parallel ridges that run roughly north-south, marking the transition between the foothills of the Pyrenees and the Landes, the forested coastal plains just south of Bordeaux. The most common soils here are limestone-rich clay (more to the West, producing robust long lived wines) and relatively free-draining silts, rich in minerals, along the valleys – giving supple more complex wines. Soils often studded with pebbles laced with iron and manganese oxide, which brings a reddish tinge to some vineyards, this soil is more to the East giving (relatively) more delicate wines.  The main river here is the Adour, which lies just to the east of Madiran village. The area has fairly high rainfall, mainly in in the spring, a hot summer, an autumn of still warm days combined with ideal cool nights creating a thermal variation favouring a full maturity of the tannins.

And tannins are the real story here – the main grape is aptly-named Tannat. It has to be 60% or more and it’s main blending partner is Cabernet Franc, although Cabernet Sauvignon and Fer Servadou are used… Ripe Tannat gives big tannic wines that take from 6 to 15 years to come round, and counterpointing or taming the tannins are the job of the winemaker. Small wonder the the practice of micro-oxygenation started here, although it has had more notable (and controversial) use in Bordeaux!

The Estate we tasted was Domaine Pichard – 12 ha (11 red) of vines situated in Soublecause in the East of the area. The soil here is quartz and clay studded with lydiene pebbles. The Estate produces structured long-lasting wines. Auguste Vigneau and then his nephew René Touchouere built up the Domaine from 1955 to 2005 but then sold to Jean Sentilles and his brother-in-law Rod Cork (a Lancastrian living in Paris). They modernised the winery with new foudres and barriques, and replanted some of the vines.

We tasted the last vintage made by René Touchouere – the 2004 Cuvée “Auguste Vigneau”, and a succession of vintages of the new regime: 2007-2011.

Here are my notes:

2004 Cuvée Auguste Vigneau  (13.5%)
This is  70% Tannat; 25% Cabernet Franc & 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The nose has a brackish quality with some hints of damson fruit, quite heavy… The palate has a sustained line of prominent tannins, not too hard but overpowering any fruit, there is a grainy quality and rather a dull finish suggesting the wine is a little too old.

2007 Cuvée Tradition   (13.5%)
This, and all the following wines, are more or less 60% Tannat / 40% Cab. Franc.
This nose is rather closed only revealing some slightly greenish plum notes later. The tannic “hit” of this wine is more striking but less enduring – forming a peak in the early-mid palate. This has higher acidity and is much fresher than the previous wine.

2008 Cuvée Tradition   (14%)
This has a pungent, vegetal, first nose with a vague dried fruit hint emerging. This is smoother and has acidity and tannins balanced and “smoothed out”. Relatively silky but still a big concentrated wine. Quite satisfying.

2009 Cuvée Tradition    (14.5%)
More open nose with a heavy floral perfume and then a prune note. Sweet (slightly over-ripe?) fruit then a massive tannic hit that persists into the rather harsh finish. This is big and seems much too young, but will any fruit disappear before the tannins soften? Judging by this very hot year’s performance in other areas – maybe!

2010 Cuvée Tradition   (14.5%)
Dark fruit on the nose and some floral notes. Good fresh acidity in a line right to the finish, balancing the high levels of  relatively supple tannin.  The is better integrated, firm but enjoyable and hinting strongly at food. Good – my favourite!

2011 Cuvée Tradition   (14%)
A fruitier nose leading to supple but less fresh palate. This is a slightly lighter style than all the rest, perhaps reflecting a difficult year – but still unresolved  and not that successful.

These are all really (I mean really!) tannic wines, but with the profile of the tannins differing between the wines. Some show the tannins throughout; some early and dropping off; some mounting towards the finish… For me the more successful wines (2008 & 2010) cry out for rich Gascony cuisine, and would be enjoyable in that setting – but otherwise they are too much for most occasions. An interesting venture into dark brooding wines though…

À Bientôt

April ICC Tasting – Wines of Uruguay

On Thursday April 20th Janine led a the ICC Tasting on Wines Of Uruguay. I am very grateful to her for organising and conducting the tasting,  and for the excellent notes she has provided.

The Tasting focused on two leading producers Juanicó/Familia Deicas and Vinedo de los Vientos. Lets start with some information about them:

Juanicó is Uruguay’s largest wine company, owning about 240 hectares of vineyards. The modern company is run by the Deicas family who founded it in 1979. The company is now run by Fernando Deicas who is the son of the founder. Fernando trained as a chemical engineer, is familiar with all the latest technical knowledge and equipment, and is a very good taster. Fernando brought French specialists to Juanicó, and he traveled throughout France and Italy on a study tour before planting grapes in the early 1980s. Most of their vineyards surround the property in Canelones, situated about 40 minutes north-west of the capital Montevideo. Their main challenge is dealing with the high humidity in Uruguay. Well drained soils like the clay-limestone around the property help, as do open vine canopies such as the lyre system (where vines are grown on a flat plane, for example against a wall. About 12 grape varieties are grown. Red grapes include Tannat, Cabernet Sauignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Marselan (a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache Noir). White grapes include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The entry and medium level wines are labelled as Juanicó, while Familia Deicas is used for the top wines. Their premium wine Gran Bodegón shows the potential of Uruguay to make fine wine.

Vinedo de los Vientos is located east of Montevideo on the coast. Vinedo de los Vientos means “Vineyard of the Winds”, and sits where the River Plate estuary meets the Atlantic Ocean. With 17ha under vine, the family practices sustainable farming. Owner Pablo Fallabrino says “It’s really wild,” and “we don’t like an overworked vineyard.” Pablo grew up in a family of winemakers. His grandfather moved to Uruguay from Piedmont in Italy in 1920, and in the 1930’s he started two wineries with five different vineyards. Eventually, Pablo’s father Alejandro took over and became one of the key players in the Uruguayan wine industry, until he died in 1991. After his death, Pablo took over one of the vineyards – Vinedo de los Vientos – and in 1997, he started his own winery. Then in 2000, Pablo decided to do something different and he began blending and experimenting with winemaking techniques. For example, the dry wine tasted here (Estival) is a blend, but is fermented all together. He also experiments with different techniques for Tannat wines and is now planting Italian varietals. And with the acquisition of 10ha of vineyards at 500 meters above sea level, Vinedo de los Vientos now has the highest vineyard in Uruguay. The vineyard is two to three degrees cooler than his other vineyard and it’s steep, so he’ll have to make terraces. Using no insecticide and no-till farming, Vinedo de los Vientos does not filter their wines, and only fine with egg whites if necessary.

Here are Janine’s Notes:

CASTELAR EXTRA BRUT (FAMILIA DEICAS)   –   12%   –    £13, Wines of Uruguay
90% Chardonnay and 10% Viognier
This wine was a surprise, as I was expecting a light, frothy Prosecco-style sparkler, but it was quite a deep golden colour and had rich flavours of ripe lemons and tropical fruits with a touch of stem ginger spice. Quite sharp acidity and a slight bitterness on the finish, along with some minerality. The downside was that the bubbles weren’t very persistant and the wine fell flat quite quickly. Given the deep colour and richness, perhaps it had been aged for too long before release?

ESTIVAL 2015 (VINEDO DE LOS VIENTOS)   –   12.5%   –   £13, Wines of Uruguay
60% Gewürz, 30% Chardonnay, 10% Moscato Bianco
Pale golden colour. A mix of tropical fruits and a hint of lychees and rose petals from the Gewürz. Fairly light bodied, but with a touch of oilyness on the palate. Quite rich flavours and a nicely balancing acidity. A nice summery wine, refreshing but with some interest and depth.

BODEGONES DEL SUR VIOGNIER 2015 (JUANICO)   –   13.5%   –   £12, Wines of Uruguay
100% Viognier, 5% of which was fermented in new American oak barrels for 6 months.
Medium gold colour. Peaches and apricots and a honeysuckle-type floral aroma. Dry, rich and full-bodied, with refreshing acidity and reasonably good length. Felt like more of a serious wine than the previous white.

ATLANTICO SUR TANNAT 2011 (FAMILIA DEICAS)   –   13.8%   –   £12.95, Wine Society
100% Tannat.
Deep purple colour. First impression was of quite a strong vanilla aroma, but this faded and blackberries emerged, along with a touch of spice and herbs. Medium bodied, fruity and soft, with ripe tannins and a refreshing level of acidity. A surprising (in a good way) introduction to Tannat from Uruguay; was expecting something tougher / more tannic!

GRAN BODEGON 2011 (FAMILIA DEICAS)   –   13.5%   –   £22, Wine Society
40% Tannat, 29% Cabernet Franc, 19% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Marselan. Matured in oak barriques for 27 months.
Deep ruby colour. Aroma of damsons and garrigue. Full-bodied, rich sweet fruit, with smooth tannins and nicely balancing acidity. Complex and really lovely. A step up from the previous red, but then it should be given the difference in price…

ALCYONE TANNAT DESSERT WINE (VINEDO DE LOS VIENTOS)   –   16%   –   £21 (50cl), Wines of Uruguay
100% Tannat, made in the style of Barolo Chinato. A fortified wine infused with herbs and spices that originated in the Barolo area of Italy. Ingredients often used include coriander, citrus peel, clove, ginger, vanilla, cardamom seed, rhubarb root, gentian, sugar and the bark of the Cinchona plant, which is where the drink gets its name. It was once used for medicinal purposes, but is now drunk after dinner in a similar way to Port. Once the base wine is made, it is aged for several years in old French oak
Deep crimson with a mahogany rim. Aromas of vanilla and spice and a touch medicinal. Sweet and full-bodied, with a slightly syrupy texture. Vanilla, spice, cassis and milk chocolate on the palate. Great acidity, makes it feel balanced, despite the syrupy texture. A hint of soft tannins on the finish. This was an unusual wine (not surprising, given the production method). I had read that it went well with chocolate, so we tried that out and agreed!

I got the impression that the group’s favourites were the final two wines. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the wines, given the low number of producers making quality wines for export in Uruguay. They were all well made, are a bit different and had a really nice core of acidity that kept them tasting fresh.

Thanks so much Janine for a great tasting and such comprehensive notes.

Until soon!