The idea for a tasting on this wine topic came out of the W1NG tasting of Medoc Crus Bourgeois Exceptionnels last December. The tasting group were discussing the list of newly permitted grapes in Bordeaux: Touriga Nacional, Marselan, Castets, Arinarnoa, Alvarinho and Liliorila. In particular Marselan, which I have tasted in some blends from Southern Rhone and Provence, provoked some interest – and I thought of sourcing some varietal examples. I found a Uruguayan Marselan of some repute, and originally I thought of conducting a tasting including Brazil and Peru in with Uruguay as a sort of “The Rest of South America” tasting. However, sourcing distinctive wine in our price range was difficult from Brazil or Peru. Either they were too “cheap and cheerful” or too international, or both. For example, the leading UK supplier of Brazilian wines lists 54 bottles – only 20 are in our price range and 14 of those are sparkling. Peru is even cheaper (and less cheerful?) – with the best source, funnily enough – in Paris!
Anyway, Uruguay initially seemed a more promising source of finer wine, and interesting varietals like Marselan and Petit Verdot – and so it proved…
Uruguay is a small country, slightly bigger than England, slightly smaller than Scotland and England combined. The country is about 500 kms wide at its widest, and about 600 kms from its most Southerly point (the capital: Montevideo) and the most Northerly point.
It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. It is sparsely populated – only 3.5 million people live there, the vast majority along the north bank of the Río de la Plata, and on the S. E. coast of the Atlantic.
The latitude 34° South runs pretty well along the southern limit of the Country. This is an interesting parallel: it also runs through Chilean wine areas; Mendoza in Argentina; Cape Town in S. Africa; Sydney and Auckland – all wine regions! In fact, unless relieved by other factors (oceanic.. altitude…) wine making is difficult at hotter latitudes.
Uruguay consists, administratively, of 15 regions – and wine regions share the same designations. All produce some wine and most are home to at least 2 or 3 wineries – but there are only about 180 in the whole of the country. However most wine making is concentrated, like the population, in the Southern third of the country – along the Río de la Plata estuary and the coast with the Atlantic in the S. E of the country. Here the maritime influence of the ocean ameliorates climatic extremes, in a similar way to the Atlantic at the “other end” – near Bordeaux! In fact 5 of the 15 regions together produce 95% of the wine. The 5 regions making this vast majority are – in order of total production – Canelones; Montevideo; Colonia; San José and Maldonado. However, according to Elizabeth Yabrudy, this order is slightly rearranged when looking for fine wine – with Maldonado now close behind Canelones and Montevideo… In fact Elizabeth is an informative writer on Uruguayan wine – see this article from Wine, Wit and Wisdom blog.
Here a map of the southern areas with 8 regions shown:
Florida < 1%……………….. Montevideo 15%
Colonia 7% ………………….Lavalleja < 1 %
San Jose 4% ………………….Maldonado 3%
Canelones 66%……………………Rocha < 1%
S Uruguay Total ≡ 96%
Although Uruguayan wine production is small by comparison with its neighbours, it is still substantial. Argentina and Chile are, after all, the 6th and 7th largest wine-producing countries in the world with about 1.8 billion bottles; and Brazil third within S. America (and 15th in the World) with about 400 million bottles. Uruguay (23rd) produces about 110 million – a little more than Peru, but over 10 times as much as England – and a bit less than Switzerland, and a bit more than Croatia. [All figures 2022].
The grape most identified with Uruguay is Tannat, the grape of Madiran (and other S. W. French appellations). The grape is still accounts for about a quarter of planting and its significance as the (intended) signature grape of Uruguay clearly parallels that of Malbec in Argentina. However until the last ten years or so it was often big, alcoholic, rough and over-oaked. Now more judicious use of cooler sites, and more warm-climate winemaking techniques are producing lighter, and more region-specific styles. Some commentators have noted a change to bigger barrels, some oxygenation, a move to fresher styles using more Italian-style winemaking appropriate to warmer climes.
In some ways the influence of the Atlantic allows the possibility of more European profile of wines. But the maritime effect is less pronounced in the Estuary. Tim Atkin says: “This is not only about the ocean, Uruguay has also a marked influence from the Río de la Plata, the estuary formed by the union of Paraná River and Uruguay River. The vineyards closer to these rivers are warmer than those more to the east, where there is the major influence of the Atlantic.” In fact west of Montevideo that heat difference can be 2°C, more humidity, and a week earlier harvesting compared to, say, Maldonado. Soils differ too with a lot of clay amplifying the risk of fungal infections in the grapes.
On the other side – the more easterly region of Maldonado has the biggest influence from the ocean’s cooling breezes; more altitude; more varied geology with soil types including crystalline rocks with some quartz incrustations, alluvial and gravel soils in the valleys, and weathered granite…
I have chosen to base a tasting on two producers: Bodega Garzón from Maldonado; and Vinedo de los Vientos (Bodega Pablo Fallabrino) from Atlántida in Eastern Canalones – about 30 mile East of Montevideo and only 4 miles from the sea.
Bodega Garzón is where the billionaire Bulgheroni family, with help from Italian winemaking consultant Alberto Antonini, has spent the past 20 years turning former cattle grazing land and eucalyptus forests into the country’s most prominent winery. They have since become the standard-bearer for premium wines from Uruguay considered probably the best producer and certainly the best among large exporters. In November 2018, their pioneering status was recognised by Wine Enthusiast with the ‘New World Winery of the Year’ award. The vineyards at Bodega Garzón are a patchwork quilt of 1,150 individual plots of around 0.2 hectares in size, each plot carefully chosen for a specific variety according to its soil and microclimate. The winery is specially designed to operate as sustainably as possible, and is the first winery outside North America to pursue LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Built on natural terraces, the winery uses cutting-edge technology and operates using a gravity system to ensure quality and energy efficiency at every stage of production.
Located 11 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, the estate has more than 1,000 small vineyard blocks covering hillside slopes, which benefit from varying microclimates, different levels of humidity and an intense canopy management. Well-draining granitic soils and cooling Atlantic breezes allow the grapes to ripen steadily. The vineyards are surrounded by lush forests, palm trees, rocky soils and granite boulders. Most of their wines are varietal and we’ll try their Albariño, Marselan, Tannat and Petit Verdot.
Our other wines will come from Vinedo de los Vientos, a Bodega owned by the Fallabrino family which produces limited run wines of the highest quality. The name means “Vineyard of the Winds” and is located near where the River Plate Estuary and Atlantic Ocean meet. Owned by the family since 1947, they upgraded to an ultra-modern winery in 1998 and over the past two decades have transformed into a world class winery. With an aim to produce great wines in small quantities, in 1998, the Fallabrino family completed, an ultra-modern winery with stainless steel tanks, pneumatic presses and French oak barrels. The winemaker Pablo Fallabrino, a laid-back good-natured surfer (he has a range of wines called Soul Surfer!), was warded WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR by the Tim Atkin MW Uruguay report 2023. Working with Italian grapes (Arneis, Barbera, Nebbiolo…) as well as Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Tannat (of course) and others – his approach is not to over-think the winemaking process. Instead, he runs with his instincts, takes chances and makes wines with his own personal signature. A Ripasso Tannat and a Sparkling Nebbiolo (!?) are among his 15 wines, but also an interesting white blend and a normal, still, Nebbiolo. We’ll try these last two.
The tasting will be on April 4th, notes will be posted here within the following 4 – 6 days.
À Bientôt
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