Uruguay beyond Tannat A journey beyond the country’s signature red grape, with Amanda Barnes
From Albariño and Viognier to Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc, there’s far more to the Uruguayan wine scene than its red signature grape. Let the country’s foremost wine innovators and producers tell you more
Tannat is undeniably the champion of Uruguay. Its hardy character and unbreakable personality performs well vintage after vintage and, as a result, Tannat is Uruguay’s most planted variety – accounting for more than one in four vines. But Tannat is not the only card up this small nation’s sleeve. Uruguay is actually home to a host of different varieties, spanning the vinous alphabet from Arneis to Zinfandel. And the huge range of wines to be found in Uruguay are all part of its heritage, while also being key to its innovative present and future.
Vines came to Uruguay, like the rest of the New World, in the hands of European immigrants, with the greatest influx occurring from the 1850s onwards. ‘We are all children of immigrants – from Italy, Spain and France, and each of them brought over vines on the boat,’ explains fifthgeneration vigneron Gabriel Pisano, who makes
Sangiovese at Viña Progreso as an ode to his Italian forefathers. ‘We also never had any regulations controlling what you plant.’
Although there was a rather large, governmentdriven vine pull in the 1990s that encouraged producers to pull out their hybrids and focus on Tannat, families maintained their identity through other heritage varieties. ‘My family were all from Piedmont, like many of the Italians in Uruguay, and actually Barbera, Nebbiolo and Moscato arrived before Tannat,’ explains winemaker Pablo Fallabrino, who also produces Arneis, with Fresa and Cortese coming soon. ▶
‘We are all children of immigrants, and each of them brought over vines on the boat’ --------------------------- Gabriel Pisano
THE ADVANCE OF ALBARINO
Italian varieties are scattered throughout the wine regions of Canelones, in particular – the heartland of Uruguayan wine, where two-thirds of the industry lies. But it is actually a Spanish migrant variety that is making the biggest waves in Uruguay today. The Bouza family decided to honour their Galician roots when they planted Albariño in 2002 in Canelones, after importing cuttings from their relatives in Rías Baixas.
It was a sentimental decision, but actually the variety thrived in Uruguay’s humid Atlantic climate, which is not unlike Galicia’s, where more than 1,000mm of rainfall a year is common.
Today, Albariño is Uruguay’s 10th most planted variety, and is now expanding to the east coast.
‘Albariño has adapted really well in Uruguay,’ explains Germán Bruzzone, winemaker at Bodega Garzón, which has 40ha of Albariño. ‘From Canelones, with the wines of Bouza of course, but also here in Maldonado, where it really suits our granite soils. These soils give us a great acidity and freshness, with good volume in the mouth and a mineral finish.’
Although Albariño is quickly rising through the ranks of varieties to watch, the most planted white grape in Uruguay is actually Moscatel de Hamburgo. Although the variety is largely used for cheaper rosé wines, Fabiana Bracco is keen to kickstart a revolution with her fresh and pithy coastal Moscato: ‘I didn’t want to lose our tradition or the identity that my family built over generations,’ she says of her decision to make fine wine at Bracco Bosca with the family’s old vines.
‘The decision really came from the heart, but I also reasoned that if it had thrived here it must be for a reason! Today, the wine is one of our stars.’
There’s certainly some excitement in Uruguay about the potential of coastal whites, which include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Roussanne, Viognier and Torrontés, among others – giving winemakers plenty of tools to draw from. I’m personally excited about the potential of white blends that can nicely reflect the balanced character and subtle, layered aromas Uruguay’s white varieties often proffer.
Carla Bertellotti, a Uruguayan in London who founded prominent Uruguayan wine importer Vinos Latinos, is also excited: ‘Uruguay should explore further the potential in white wines, both as single varietals and blends. There are great things coming out now, and I reckon we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.’
SINGLE-VARIETAL REDS
In Uruguay’s world of red wines, blends have always been at the forefront. ‘In our culture, we are used to saving wines and cellaring them – for which blends have certain advantages,’ explains third-generation vigneron Santiago Deicas. ‘In our family, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot have always been important to us: they make up – blended with Tannat – our top family wine.’ ▶
It is common to taste Tannat blends that reflect the character and heritage of each winemaking family: whether it is the Zinfandel-Tannat blend pioneered by Artesana (co-owned by a Californian), or the Petit Manseng-Tannat blend from the Carrau family (of Catalan heritage) in Rivera. Blends were historically a way of softening the sometimes spiky edges of red wines in this humid climate, but with significant viticultural advancements in the past couple of decades, single-varietal red wines are also making their mark on the wine scene.
Pinot Noir is a favourite among Uruguayan wineries, with Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio, Bouza, Garzón, Marichal, Pizzorno and Viña Progreso all making notable examples. But no one exports quite as much Pinot Noir as the Pisano family. ‘It’s our second most exported variety after Tannat!’ exclaims Daniel Pisano, one of the three brothers in charge. ‘We actually sell just as much Pinot Noir in France as we do Tannat... I joke that we’re selling ice to the eskimos!’
There’s clearly a demand for these varieties, and a notable French leaning in many of the country’s top red wines, with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon being the third and fifth most planted varieties respectively (see box, p49).
But it is actually Cabernet Franc that excites me most. Some interesting expressions of Cabernet Franc are now coming from a range of the 99 soil types to be found in Uruguay: from the bony, floral wines of the schist soils of San José to the richer, fruit-driven wines from the calcareous clay of Canelones.
The other area of excitement in Uruguayan reds is with Petit Verdot and Marselan. Both have thicker skins that make them more tolerant of the humid climate. And both make wines of great acidity, freshness and character – with Marselan offering a more supple, food-friendly wine and
Petit Verdot acting as a spicier but less austere counterpart to Tannat.
INNOVATION AND DIVERSITY
Experimentation with other varieties doesn’t end there. There’s a growing movement of sparkling wines in Uruguay, from the complex and classy traditional-method bubblies of Viña Edén, to the wild pét-nat wines of Pablo Fallabrino (who has also released the country’s first CBD-infused wines, celebrating the legal status of marijuana in Uruguay). Winemakers are dabbling in orange wines too, as well as ageing white wines in amphorae and concrete eggs.
Innovation is bubbling over in Uruguay. ‘In the future we’ll definitely see more diversity, not only in varieties but also in winemaking,’ adds Garzón’s Bruzzone. ‘There are many exciting wine projects here that are spearheaded by the younger generation. They are exploring making wine in very different ways – with some surprising results.’
Although there’s plenty of reason to get excited about Uruguay’s wines beyond Tannat, that’s not to say that Tannat is by any means on its way out. Uruguayan Tannat continues to journey across Uruguay’s wine regions as well as styles – from carbonic-maceration Tannat pioneered by the Pizzorno family, to the many great dessert wines available today, and even sparkling Tannat. ‘Tannat expresses terroir like no other variety, so in Uruguay you find as many Tannat styles as terroirs exist,’ adds Daniel Pisano.
As Uruguay’s most-grown variety, Tannat offers an unparalleled opportunity to travel Uruguay’s wine regions from your glass. But, while you swirl your way around Uruguay, it’s well worth taking several pit stops on your journey to discover the diversity of varieties on offer. Small Uruguay may be, but you can’t ever say it is predictable or boring. ▶