{"id":3058,"date":"2023-04-08T15:58:30","date_gmt":"2023-04-08T15:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/?p=3058"},"modified":"2023-08-17T20:02:16","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T20:02:16","slug":"wines-of-uruguay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wines-of-uruguay\/","title":{"rendered":"WINES OF URUGUAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

One country I have been so impressed with in its development over the last two decades is Uruguay. In the past it has been dominated by its larger noisier neighbours, but there has been a quiet wine revolution going on here \u2013 particularly in the dynamic easterly Maldonado region.<\/h3>\n

Sizewise Uruguay is tiny compared to Argentina, Chile and Brazil.\u00a0 Today it has just 5,990 hectares \u2013 which is about the same vineyard area as St Emilion in Bordeaux \u2013 and a population the same size as Wales.\u00a0 But in South American terms, small is beautiful here in Uruguay with an exciting range of wines now emerging from unusual grape varieties grown on a diverse range of soils.<\/p>\n

The great challenge here is high humidity so close to the Atlantic, so vines are often trained higher to ensure aeration around the canopies.\u00a0\u00a0 Historically the industry has been around Montevideo and in the gently rolling hills of Canelones just inland.\u00a0 This is still the main heartland and home to the country\u2019s oldest vines with the higher altitude subzone of Las Violetas, which the Uruguayans think of as their Grand Cru, renowned for its volcanic and limestone soils.<\/p>\n

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Vineyards<\/p><\/div>\n

Pioneers have been searching for less humid spots further east along the coast into Maldonado region, particularly around the popular Ponta del Este tourist hotspot.\u00a0 With a cooler drier climate, but still with constant Atlantic breezes and ancient granite soils \u2013 this is Uruguay\u2019s new wine frontier.<\/p>\n

It is also Uruguay\u2019s fastest growing wine region.\u00a0 Twenty years ago there was only 20 hectares in Maldonado – today there are 400 hectares with two dozen producers.\u00a0 Many of the big players in the industry now have vineyards here.<\/p>\n

Uruguay\u2019s most planted red grape is Tannat \u2013 introduced from southern Gascony by Basque settlers into northern Uruguay in 1870.\u00a0 The other popular red grapes here are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.<\/p>\n

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Winery<\/p><\/div>\n

Tannat has really found a home in Uruguay \u2013 now found in two styles \u2013 modern bright fruity Tannat (as made by Vina Eden or Garzon) or traditional more structured powerful styles (as made by Deicas or Bouza).\u00a0 Pablo Fallabrino also makes an extraordinarily good Tannat dessert wine.<\/p>\n

Only 25% of Uruguay\u2019s wines are white \u2013 with a tiny amount of sparkling.\u00a0 Whilst its most planted white grapes are the less promising Moscatel de Hamburg and Ugni Blanc \u2013 and it has over 100 hectares each of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay – the exciting new discovery here is Albarino.<\/p>\n

With its combination of granite soils and Atlantic influence, eastern Uruguay is similar to Spain\u2019s Galicia region.\u00a0 So it is hardly surprising that Albarino was introduced here (first planted in Uruguay by Bodegas Bouza) and is doing so well.\u00a0 There may only be 70 hectares so far \u2013 but this is definitely the great white grape of the future here.<\/p>\n

SPARKLING WINE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maldonado: VINA EDEN BRUT NATURE NV<\/strong>
\n\u00a327.50 Wanderlust Wines<\/em>
\nThis small winery created by Brazilian Mauricio Zlatkin is one of Uruguay\u2019s most rated fizz producers \u2013 their extra dry traditional method Chardonnay\/Pinot Noir blend has biscuity nose, zippy freshness with lemon peel and peach notes.<\/p>\n

WHITE WINE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maldonado: CERRO DEL TORO CHARDONNAY RESERVA 2021<\/strong>
\n\u00a317.99 Wines of Uruguay<\/em>
\nJapanese-owned Cerro del Toro winery does unoaked Chardonnay rather well \u2013 with bright citric fruits, leesy creamy mouthfeel and vibrant acidity.<\/p>\n

Maldonado: GARZON SINGLE VINEYARD ALBARINO 2021<\/strong>
\n\u00a326 Hic Winemerchants; Fine Wine Musselburgh<\/em>
\nBodegas Garzon, an exciting new winery created by Argentine millionaire Alejandro Bulgerhoni. make superb Albarino at all price levels \u2013 this is their premium slightly oaked version with layers of flavours, fabulous leesy texture and peachy richness on palate and length.<\/p>\n

RED WINE<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Maldonado: GARZON SINGLE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 2017<\/strong>
\n\u00a324 Fine Wine Musselburgh<\/em>
\nAnother dazzling success for Bodegas Garzon who have tamed the tricky Pinot Noir grape.\u00a0 Here aged 15 months in large old French oak, this single vineyard example is beautifully balanced with rich warm red fruits and succulent rounded mouthfeel.<\/p>\n

Montevideo: BOUZA \u2018SIN BARRICA\u2019 TANNAT 2020<\/strong>
\n\u00a321 Field & Fawcett; Jeroboams<\/em>
\nFrom one of Uruguay\u2019s leading and most innovative wineries, Bodegas Bouza.\u00a0 This is a youthful unoaked Tannat showing its black fruit, clove and herby notes<\/p>\n

Canelones: DEICAS EXTREME VINEYARDS \u2018SUELO INVERTIDO\u2019 TANNAT 2018<\/strong>
\n\u00a325 Wines of Uruguay<\/em>
\nEnterprising winemaker Santiago Deicas inverted his soil bringing the limestone subsoil to the surface \u2013 deep powerful linear style of Tannat with hints of tropical fruit.<\/p>\n

DESSERT WINE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Canelones: PABLO FALLABRINO \u2018ALCYONE\u2019 TANNAT NV<\/strong>
\n\u00a321.99 hf bt Wines of Uruguay; Novel Wines<\/em>
\nA big hit at our recent tasting \u2013 made from a combination of techniques using Barolo Chinato aromatised style and Marsala-type fortification.\u00a0 Weird and wonderful dark red sweet wine with chocolate, honey, herb and mint notes.<\/p>\n

By Rose Murray Brown MW.\u00a0 Published in The Scotsman 1 April 2023<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Join Rose\u2019s Escorted Wine Tour to Chile, Argentina & Uruguay in February 2024\u00a0www.rosemurraybrown.com<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1929,1985],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3058"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3058"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3109,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3058\/revisions\/3109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}