The Country of Your Dreams You May Not Be Able To Place on the Map (Yet)
Courtesy of Bodega Garzón | Photo by Sebastian Bistiancic
Here’s one thing that may not be on every wine lover’s radar: Tannat.
Here’s another thing that may not be on every wine lover’s radar: Uruguay.
Yet those two lesser-known things combine in much the same way that Burgundy combines with Pinot Noir, and Argentina combines with Malbec, and Germany combines with Riesling: they are the signature grapes of a specific wine producing region, where “signature” grape means that the region is either its ancestral home (as its he case of Pinot Noir in Burgundy) or the grape has been shown to be suited particularly well to that area’s climate and growing conditions.
Such is the case with Tannat in Uruguay. Though its origins are distinctly European (namely the Basque region on the border between France and Spain), Tannat has emerged over time as the “national grape” of Uruguay. To be clear, Tannat grows well outside of Uruguay (Michael Shaps in Virginia and Troon Vineyard in Oregon are two very interesting cases in point domestically), and Uruguay grows many grapes in addition to Tannat, most notably for me Albariño.
But the association of Tannat with Uruguay is by this point indelible.
Which is why Matthew and I are turning our attention this week to that lesser-known combination, especially since Matthew has been immersed in the the most recent Uruguayan harvest season. He’s had a front-row seat onto not only the caliber of the grapes coming off the vine but also onto some traditions of how harvest is celebrated in a country that became independent of Spain more than 200 years ago, was annexed by Brazil for a period, and was also aligned briefly with Argentina.
Uruguay, and particularly its capital of Montevideo, has been enjoying some moments in the tourist sun as THE destination for wine lovers and beach-goers alike. Matthew, however, reports from the vineyards themselves.
Courtesy of Bodega Garzón | Photo by Sebastian Bistiancic
I first visited Uruguay in 2018, and I have thought about it every single day since.
I'm thankful it only took me a little over 5 years to return. I couldn't have waited much longer.
My recent weekend in Punta del Este, José Ignacio, Garzón, and Maldonado District was a swift reminder why this country is so magical. The people. The culture. The food. The landscape. THE WINE.
The Bodega Garzón team graciously invited me to join their 2024 Harvest Party—a festival where they flew in their importers, distributors, educators, ambassadors, sommeliers, and journalists from all over North & South America. The party didn't end all weekend, we literally danced for three days straight!
Dining in some of the best restaurants in South America, cheersing with Rosé, Bubbles, Albariño, Marselan, Tannat, and epic field blends and icon bottlings to commemorate us all being in the same place at the same time to celebrate the vision of owner Mr. Alejandro Bulgheroni, on the amazing advice of international enologist Alberto Antonini, with the Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards Executive of the Year 2023 Christian Wylie, and the ship is kept due north by chief winemaker German Bruzzone. Not to mention the insane work of Export Manager Alec Griffiths, Marketing Manager Nicolás Bonino, and North American Ambassador Mele Sosa. I am leaving so many people out, but what a team they have amassed!
NOT TO MENTION FRANCIS MALLMANN IS THE CULINARY DIRECTOR OF THEIR RESTAURANT ON PROPERTY!
He also owns a small restaurant in the nearby eponymous town of Garzón, no big deal.
Get yourself to Montevideo, drive to Punta del Este. Enjoy the sun, the sand, the surf, and raise a glass to the amazing work being done by the largest ambassadors of Uruguayan wine moving the needle for all of their neighbors and colleagues.
It is certainly a rising tide lifts all boats sort of situation.
Now make sure you can locate Uruguay on a map, and get yourself there. You will thank me.
Photos by Sebastian Bistiancic
