Get me a glass of Malbec.’ ‘Add a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to the shopping list.’ ‘I love a good Cabernet.’

Grape varieties have become shorthand for the wines we feel like drinking, sometimes not really giving much thought to their origin or producer.

Sure, the Malbec will be from Argentina. The Sauvignon Blanc? Maybe from Chile – or New Zealand, or the Loire.

The ubiquity of varietal-labelled wines has created an easy way to communicate with consumers. At the same time, however, it has also hindered an engagement with the beautiful, sometimes messy, reality of the vines and people behind them.

This is particularly true in South America, where the development of viticulture is woven into the complex narrative of colonisation.

Single-varietal wines stood for a sense of modernity that seemed to overcome a fractured, contentious past. But things have been rapidly changing in the last decade, as both viticultural and geopolitical heritages are reassessed.

‘South America, and Argentina in particular, followed the Californian [variety-based], rather than the European [origin-based] model, of marketing wines,’ explains 2024 Decanter Hall of Fame recipient Susana Balbo, who, in addition to leading her successful winery, served three terms as president of Wines of Argentina between 2006 and 2016.

‘When we were looking at how to raise our profile in export markets, we did a number of studies and that was the direction that was chosen. In many ways it worked; Argentinian Malbec became a success all over the world. But now we need to overcome that success. We were very comfortable [with the varietal focus] for 20 years, but luckily we’re being forced out of our comfort zone.’

Injecting creativity

Overcoming that success, Balbo and others argue, means engaging with the nuances of terroir and the diversity of grape varieties that make the South American landscape and history both diverse and unique.

Signs of this change in perspective are palpable and have yielded South America’s ‘white wine revolution’ and ‘Criolla revival’. Underpinning these ‘movements’ is a slow but sure shift from single-varietal wines to blends – from prescriptive, technical winemaking to a creative, personal response to terroir.

‘Blends force you to think and speak about wine differently,’ continues Balbo. ‘They inherently tell stories and individual perspectives, rather than “packaged” messages about grape varieties. This is particularly important because we need to champion our heritage – now more than ever.’

Balbo has put this philosophy into practice. As the creator of South America’s first fine white blend based on the Criolla variety Torrontés (her Signature White Blend), she tapped into and, in a way, catalysed many of the ongoing changes.

Blends also bring to the forefront the incredible wealth of old vineyards that South America is home to, and the diverse genetic material that they contain.

Sisters Laura and Adrianna Catena have been fierce advocates for this stock of massal selections (vines propagated by taking cuttings from the best existing vine stocks), which they argue calls into question the notions of Old versus New World that structure orthodox wine discourses.

‘People often think of Europe as the classical source of old grapes, and therefore fine wine,’ says Laura Catena.

‘Without knowing that in fact most of Europe’s vineyards are mono-clonal, relatively new plantings. Meanwhile, in South America we have these incredible, truly old and in many cases ungrafted, massal selections.’

The sisters argue that not only does this bring a different kind of complexity to the wines, but it also lends them a symbolic value that goes well beyond what’s in the glass.

They echo Balbo’s view that heterogeneity forces a different way of talking and engaging with wine, focused on narrative rather than labels.

From California to Bordeaux

In counterpoint to the varietal focus that informed export-growth strategies, as South America’s producers began to toy with the idea of fine wine during the 1990s, Bordeaux was undoubtedly the role model.

Star consultants such as the late Michel Rolland, Paul Hobbs and Alberto Antonini were brought in to produce Cabernet Sauvignon-based blends in Chile and Argentina, only to be surprised by the allure of extreme terroirs that yielded particular expressions of the classical varieties.

If some (Rolland, for example) remained faithful to a signature framework, most winemakers were taken in by the idiosyncrasies of the South American landscapes, laying the groundwork for truly South American classics such as Seña and Nicolás Catena Zapata.

The emergence of a new generation of extremely talented and globally well-travelled local winemakers only helped these wines to evolve into a character of their own, rather than being derivative, Bordeaux-informed iterations.

This also meant, almost inevitably, that Cabernet’s protagonism began to be questioned, not least because varieties such as Tannat and Carmenère found such a strong – and arguably more alluring and nuanced – character away from French climes.

Again, their interpretation has changed significantly over the past few years, increasingly attuned to place and to the synergetic potential of blending.

Santiago Deicas, third generation at the helm of his family' eponymous Uruguayan winery, explains the evolution through two Tannat-based blends produced by Deicas.

‘Preludio [Gran Vino de Corte] was born from my father’s urge to produce a fine, classical, Bordeaux-inspired blend,’ he says.

‘With [Extreme Vineyards] Subsuelo Corte Unico, I really want to convey the essence of our vineyards.’

Reclaiming Malbec

The way in which Deicas discusses his wines is symptomatic of the overall change of mindset to which Balbo alluded.

‘Blends change the tone of the conversation,’ Balbo says. ‘They evoke an identity and individual expression. They challenge [the consumer], while creating possibilities and more intrigue. There’s no script. If you can’t talk about the Malbec or the Tannat or the Chardonnay, you’re forced to talk about your feelings and perception.’

This is true for consumers as much as for producers, whose terroir and blending explorations have actually allowed for a better understanding of each variety – not least the mighty, and so often misunderstood, Malbec, which is in many ways being rediscovered through the lenses of terroir on the one hand and stylistic plasticity on the other.

The latter has seen producers experiment with fermentation vessels, ageing regimes and maceration times, focusing less on extraction and power, and instead seeking more purity, focus and drinkability.

In the pursuit of balance, the genetic diversity of old massal selections has proven an invaluable asset, ultimately highlighting the potential of blending – either in the vineyard or in the cellar.

This is arguably allowing for Malbec to be reclaimed as a variety rather than a ‘brand’.

Singular identities

‘The history of South American wine is a history of blends,’ says Jimena López, head winemaker at Bodega Andeluna, Mendoza.

‘It’s the story of settlers and of the different grapes they brought with them.’

It’s also the history of serendipitous crossings, new varieties and pioneering experimentation – creativity led by necessity and opportunity.

Among the most dramatic contributions to the reappreciation of old vineyards and overlooked terroirs has been the revival of Criolla varieties.

This family of grapes encompasses both those initially brought by Spanish settlers (of which País/ Listán Negro/ Criolla Chica and different Moscatels are perhaps the most important) and the different crossings that have originated in South American soil.

Among the latter are Criolla Grande and Torrontés, two very different crossings of País and Moscatel of Alejandría.

Known as ‘the queen of Torrontés’, Balbo has long championed the variety – which is the main component in her Signature White Blend.

‘Finally, we’re seeing these varieties for what they truly are and for all the beautiful wines they can make,’ she says.

She’s currently planting Torrontés on high-elevation sites in the heart of Gualtallary – mirroring what’s being done with Malbec in response to climate change – determined to give it equal, noble standing in the most privileged terroirs.

Playing the field

Across Argentina and Chile, producers are also tapping into old field blends. Once seen as a source of lesser-quality, natural-leaning wines, they are now considered a treasure trove in which nuance and complexity are effortlessly achieved while at the same time facilitating conversations about history, heritage and identity.

As is often the case in South America, contradiction lies at the heart of the ongoing vinous transformation.

It’s both puzzling and fascinating that to truly reclaim its viticultural identity, the continent is having to look back at its colonial past and acknowledge how, in trying to distance itself from it, it promoted a different kind of conquest (the California- and Bordeaux-inspired models) that at the same time built and eroded the continent’s modern viticultural history.

Above all, however, Balbo says that these changes of focus should make wine more fun, for consumers and producers alike.

‘Blending is the art of true expression and creativity in oenology,’ she says. ‘There’s such pleasure in the [blending] exercise.’

Meanwhile, the resulting wines are more dynamic, living entities in which different players playfully fight for centre stage.

‘As the wine evolves – in the glass and in the bottle – different elements and varieties reveal themselves. You never get bored and are often surprised.’

Untangling history

South America is, in its very essence, a continent of mixtures and unexpected encounters, of radically different traditions meeting, clashing and eventually yielding something new, unexpected and at the same time ancestral.

It is, and always has been, a place of intense, at times chaotic but always fascinating, creative energy, catalysed by extreme landscapes and ardent feelings. Its viticultural heritage is no different.

Each of the blends featured here untangles a bit of winemaking history. Meanwhile, Balbo is already working on a new white blend.

‘White blends are the next step of this revolution,’ she says. But which of the many revolutions is she referring to?

Maybe they’re all part of a single quest: claiming the beautiful, creole soul of South America’s fine wines.

South American blends

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April 14th was the date chosen in Uruguay to celebrate Tannat, the country’s flagship grape variety. It was on that day, in 1984, that viticulturalist Pascual Harriague passed away; the annual celebration pays tribute to the Basque immigrant (b. 1819) that played a decisive role in the introduction and propagation of Tannat in the South American country that became its second – but arguably better – home .

Although best known as the raw material for Gascony’s flagship red wines, under the Madiran AOC (where regulations require that it comprises 60-80% of the vineyard area), Tannat is indeed thought to have its origins in the Basque Country rather than South West France.

During the flux of Spanish immigrants to South America in the 19th century, Basque settlers brought cuttings of the variety which thrived in Uruguay, delivering lighter, less muscular expression than its southern French counterparts.

Elegance revealed

As the name suggests, Tannat used to be defined by its tannin and pigment charge, with which winemakers historically struggled. The variety therefore earned a reputation for producing inky, powerful, rustic reds, with intense savouriness and spiciness (liquorice, cardamom, nutmeg, moca) over luscious black fruit. In South West France it is still often blended with Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon, and benefits from at least five years in the cellar to tame its power.

Uruguay’s Atlantic-kissed iterations, on the other hand, revealed a finer, more detailed side of Tannat, with softer tannins and finer acid underpinning the black and ripe red fruit.

Not bound to tradition (or legislation) and more willing to experiment, Uruguayan producers took greater creative license with blends – Merlot, Pinot Noir and Syrah are regular companions – and winemaking techniques, expanding Tannat’s stylistic vocabulary. This in turn catalysed a reappreciation of Tannat’s potential in France, in the last decade of the 20th century.

Versatility discovered

In the dawn of the 21st century, winemakers on both sides of the Atlantic leveraged greater winemaking knowledge to rediscover and reinterpret Tannat with a lighter hand in the cellar.

Shorter macerations, less time in oak and different fermentation vessels helped to craft more refined Tannats across an exciting variety of styles – from vibrant pét-nats to truly fine reds.

Remaining true to its essence and identity, Madiran (along with neighbouring Saint-Mont) remains a source of intense, concentrated Tannat-based blends of pleasant rusticity and savoury intensity. But producers are also exploring more approachable glu-glu wines, not least by using carbonic maceration to produce soft, fruit-led styles.

Tannat remains Uruguay’s most-planted grape variety and it’s no doubt synonymous with the country’s winemaking history.

The exciting quality evolution the country has experienced in the last couple of decades has seen a steady and diverse output of Tannats, with nods both to new trends (with lower intervention wines of great energy and verve) and the traditional lineage of many of Uruguayan wineries (of which the Ripasso style below is a perfect example).

If you like red wine, there will be a Tannat for you. It’s a worthy journey of discovery. The terroir expressiveness and versatility of the variety make it a great way to learn about the different countries and regions where it grows. And a great way to assess the ability of producers – especially when the same winemaker has a go at different approaches and styles.

The wines below are a good starting point.

Tannat Day – different styles to try:

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A slow start

In most regions, winter was marked by low temperatures and low rainfall. Eduardo Félix is an agricultural engineer and technical advisor at Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura – Vinos del Uruguay (INAVI). He said that ‘spring compensated sufficiently for excellent budding. The lack of rain during blossoming was helpful for the developing bunches and ensured healthy foliage. The beginning of summer was cool and ripening was slow.’

‘Other than Albariño and Pinot Noir, grapes ripened very slowly,’ said winemaker Santiago Deicas of Bodega Familia Deicas, which owns vineyards across Uruguay. As a result, ‘we’re seeing lower alcohol levels and excellent natural freshness across the country.’

February heatwave

Globally, 2024 was the hottest February on record and a week-long heatwave saw temperatures rise well above 35 degrees in Uruguay. Some vines went into hydric stress, particularly in the eastern regions where soils tend to be stonier, retaining less water. Oceanic influence helped to mitigate the heat, but, as in 2023, irrigation was beneficial in some areas.

Record rains, lower yields for Tannat

After the February heatwave, producers were relieved by the slow pace of ripening – until an average of 350mm of rain fell in a single week in March, causing floods in some parts of the country.

Regions that harvested before the March rain were able to achieve ideal ripeness and excellent quality for Uruguay’s flagship variety, Tannat. Those who harvested after the rain saw mixed results. Eduardo Boido of Bodega Bouza said, ‘In Pan de Azúcar (in Maldonado) where the soils are stony and permeable, we were able to harvest without any trouble. But in the south, especially Las Violetas (in Canelones), the rain was more intense and the clay soils meant that the last Tannats suffered quite a lot.’ Any fruit still left on the vine had to be written off.

In the Rivera region in Uruguay’s north, the spring rains were preceded by a wetter-than-usual winter, with 400mm of rain falling each month from September to December 2023. ‘Typically we only get about 1000mm annually’, said Francisco Carrau of Bodega Cerro Chapeu, the only commercial winery in the Rivera sub-region of Cerro Chapeu. Tannat yields were heavily impacted: ‘We harvested 40% less than usual,’ he said.

Quality whites and Pinot Noirs

There was a silver lining to lower yields in the north. ’Less fruit meant we could harvest everything more quickly, before the March rains. Thankfully, summer was dry and we saw excellent fruit quality, particularly for white varieties,’ said Carrau.

Deicas agrees that white wines will be worth looking out for, together with Pinot Noirs. ‘Albariño continues to impress, regardless of the harvest, and we picked Chardonnay and Pinot Noir a long time before the rain. Quality was locked in during the cool January, when the fruit was ripening,’ he said.

In Colonia, Uruguay’s westernmost region, harvest was also completed before the rains arrived. Rodolfo Bartora of Los Cerros de San Juan was pleased with the Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Of the red varieties, he believes Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Tannat have achieved the best balance.

Uruguay has experienced a series of challenging vintages recently, but no two are the same. For many Uruguayan producers, navigating the 2024 vintage felt like steering a ship through rough seas, but – particularly for the white varieties – eventually finding safe harbour.

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Like opening the windows to let in the cool ocean breeze: that has been the effect that new vineyards in Maldonado Bay – the point on the southern coast where the Rio de la Plata estuary meets the south Atlantic – have had on Uruguayan wine. The region now produces whites and reds from vines no more than 20 years old, all influenced by the fresh presence of the Atlantic.

Scroll down for Patricio Tapia’s pick of 18 Uruguayan wines to try

Not only have these newcomers started to overshadow the classic zones, but importantly they have also attracted increased attention to a country that until recently was hidden in the long shadows of Argentina and Chile. These two are the most important wine-producing countries in South America, both in quality and volume. Tiny Uruguay, with a little less than 6,000ha of vines (INAVI institute national data for 2022), has managed to shine.

From the department of Maldonado – from areas such as Pan de Azúcar and, further east, José Ignacio or Garzón – delicious whites emerge, especially perfumed Albariños, but also Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and even Riesling.

The reds show the fresh influence of the sea in their fruity and juicy flavours. Even the fierce Tannat, on the granite soils of Maldonado, seems much more docile and approachable than the prototype of robust Uruguayan Tannat to which we have become accustomed.

Establishing an identity

As well as the particular conditions of the terroir of this region, the influence of the actors involved here is also significant. Bodega Garzón has been a key player when it comes to showing these new wines to the world. But producers such as the Deicas family and Bouza have also contributed outstanding wines to this new stage in Uruguay.

Maldonado accounts for barely 7% of the total area of vineyards planted in Uruguay. Even so, the vines and the wines they produce work as the perfect gateway to discover the rest of what Uruguay has to offer.

Canelones, with 66% of the planted area in 2022, is the largest and most traditional area in the country. Here the clay and chalky soils offer much more austere and monolithic versions of Tannat – wines that perhaps lack the fruity explosion of their Maldonado counterparts, but which still develop in the bottle like few other reds in South America. For the best Canelones examples, go for reds from the Las Violetas area – the epitome of that fierce Uruguayan Tannat.

In addition, Canelones can offer Tannats with a price-to-quality ratio that matches the best in South America, as well as silky and succulent whites. In fact, the first Albariño in Uruguay was created by Bouza using grapes from Canelones and from neighbouring Montevideo – another source of delicious reds and whites. That was back in 2004, when Uruguay was hidden in a corner of South America. Today, its wines are gradually moving up to join the top ranks in the region.

See Patricio Tapia’s pick of 18 Uruguayan wines

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With 5,848ha under vine Uruguay is becoming one of the most closely observed emerging wine producers in the world, with the focus here mostly on quality whites and the flagship Tannat reds.

Uruguayan wine regions are coastal, meaning that their climate is defined by prevailing winds from the Río de la Plata and the Atlantic Ocean, which usually ensure plenty of rainfall, especially in summer.

However, this wasn’t true of the 2023 harvest. Uruguay suffered from its most severe drought in 50 years and, of course, the lack of water was felt by the vineyards. The drought was coupled with severe heat that brought forward ripening times by 15 days.

This is an effect of climate change, which has in fact been somewhat beneficial for Uruguay, as the oenologist Ricardo Cabrera, president of the Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura – Vinos del Uruguay (INAVI) – said.

‘The 2023 harvest in Uruguay produced a 23% lower yield compared to the previous year due to the drought, which ran from September 2022, the budding period, onwards. However, it also resulted in grapes of excellent health, with good levels of alcohol and aromas, lending them unusual balance. The wines from the 2023 harvest will undoubtedly get people talking with their quality and stability. The quality makes up for the drop in yields.’

The value of water

Given the dry year, the availability of irrigation systems was a key factor in Uruguay. As this is a country where average rainfall has traditionally been sufficient, only more recent vineyard projects, mainly located to the east where the soils are poor and stony, are equipped with drip irrigation. In 2023 this was a great blessing.

In the historic wine-producing regions such as Canelones and Montevideo, where 75% of vineyards are located, irrigation was rarely necessary as the clay soils retain enough humidity for the roots of the vines. But this year, some water reserves were exhausted, leading to the blocking of vines during ripening. This in turn led to the drop in yields mentioned by Cabrera.

Gabriel Pisano, a producer from El Progreso, Canelones, reported: ‘In this area, because of the clay soils, the plants get along without irrigation. The clay retains more humidity and adult plants with roots that have delved deep are always able to produce nicely. But in other areas, there were significant drops in yields, as much as 30% in some vineyards.’

‘The year was a dry one throughout the growing season and irrigation was necessary in every vineyard. In normal years, you only need to irrigate in the eastern vineyards, very rarely in the south, but this time it was required shortly after budding began,’ said Eduardo Boido de Bouza at the Las Violetas winery in Canelones.

In summary, the lack of rain and high temperatures made for a healthy year in the vineyards, but a brief harvest window and lower yields.

Around the regions

In spite of the often-difficult conditions, each of the viticultural regions of Uruguay enjoyed excellent health, which will result in high quality, expressive wines – albeit in lower quantities. ‘The quality of the grapes went up a notch, we’re going to have great wines this year,’ said Santiago Deicas of Familia Deicas, which owns vineyards across Uruguay .

‘The conditions meant that we could harvest all the grapes in a lovely state of ripeness, which can be difficult sometimes in Uruguay,’ says Eduardo Boido of Bodega Bouza in Canelones. ‘I think that the whites, like the Chardonnay, are going to present excellent aromas and volume.’

Meanwhile, Pisano added: ‘We’re seeing significant concentration in the whites and reds, but they’re still maintaining their usual freshness. It was a fantastic year for the Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, with a quality that’s hard to achieve in other years. The Tannats are delicious.’

To the east of Uruguay, the ocean breezes brought some rain during the budding season, which proved to be enough to ensure good grape development. Germán Bruzzone at Bodega Garzón said: ‘We made sure we got very healthy, expressive and fresh fruit. I sense this will be a year of great wines. The low pHs mean tart acidity, the whites have good colour and the reds will have gentle tannins because we were able to let them ripen on their own time. In fact, we harvested 15 days earlier than usual.’

Varieties to watch

In the northern region, scattered rains in spring ensured good bunch development. Francisco Carrau at Cerro Chapeu is excited about the reds. ‘I was surprised by the results we’re getting with Arinarnoa, a variety we’ve been working on for years; while the Tannats are delicious with good ripeness and freshness,’ he said.

To the south, Rodolfo Bartora at Los Cerros de San Juan winery in Colonia reported that, ‘the wines that stand out are mainly the whites, which have excellent concentration and character, such as the Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Riesling. The reds developed good alcohol and polyphenols. The wines will be very concentrated, with plenty of fruit and volume in the mouth. I’m enthused about the Pinot Noir, Marselan, Tempranillo, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, in addition to the Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat’.

*Figures for 2022 from Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura – Vinos del Uruguay (INAVI)

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That Uruguay became famous for its brooding, dark black Tannat wines is perhaps surprising. With an Atlantic coastal climate and endless, golden sandy beaches, you would have thought that Uruguay was bound to be white wine territory.

In a country where cows outnumber people three to one, and beef is a staple at almost every meal, it was perhaps a cultural steering that led wineries to make Tannat their champion variety. It certainly pairs well with the local asado (barbecue), and the thick skins have proved an asset in the country’s often rainy climate. Tannat’s naturally stable nature, with high acid and feisty tannins, probably also helped it become the most desirable variety on which to lean.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 10 coastal whites from Uruguay worth seeking out

Tannat dominates Uruguay’s plantings – accounting for more than a quarter of vineyards today – and it’s unlikely to be knocked off its throne any time soon. However, there is a rising tide of fresh coastal white wines that are changing the landscape of Uruguayan wine and enticing winemakers and wine drinkers alike.

White wine revival

The artisanal nature and boutique size of many of its wine producers is one of Uruguay’s calling cards. They produce very individual wines throughout the wine regions. It’s a virtue in terms of diversity, but it also means that these wineries, with their smaller size and smaller budgets, have been slower to modernise and accrue the technology required for modern white winemaking.

So, in the mid-1990s, the National Viticulture Institute offered a scheme to help revive Uruguay’s white wines. ‘When I arrived in 1996, it was on a mission to revamp their Sauvignon Blanc,’ explains Duncan Killiner, a flying winemaker from New Zealand who consulted to a dozen wineries in Canelones. ‘We needed a bit of an update in the cellar with more temperature control, but the raw material was there. The climate is coastal and Canelones has rolling hillsides and heavy soils, just like Entre-deux-Mers in Bordeaux – you can make great Sauvignon Blanc here.’

By the early 2000s, the new white wines, focused on Sauvignon Blanc, were beginning to make waves abroad – gaining contracts with some major UK supermarkets. Since then, Uruguay’s white wines have been on an upward trajectory. Not only have winemakers had the tools to make fresh white wines, but they’ve also been seeking new terroirs and varieties to explore Uruguay’s lighter side.

Perfect fit

Albariño is quickly rising up to become one of Uruguay’s most loved varieties. It was the Bouza family who first planted this variety here, in Montevideo in 2001, as a nod to its Galician heritage. It took only a small first vintage in 2004 to show the incredible potential of Albariño in Uruguay. The wines showed an affinity with the Albariño wines of Rías Baixas, northwest Spain, thriving in Uruguay’s rainy maritime climate, with a peachy voluptuousness underpinned by tangy salinity and coastal freshness. Bouza’s Albariño was a sensation.

Not only was the family encouraged to plant more, but so was its agronomist at the time, Eduardo Felix. When he was approached by Argentine billionaire Alejandro Bulgheroni to plant his landmark vineyard in Maldonado further east, Felix wanted to ensure that Albariño was part of that plan: ‘Maldonado was a virgin territory, but with these ancient granite soils, and since we have this very windy coastal climate, it felt like the perfect fit. So I planted plenty of it!’

Uruguay’s Albariño plantings leapt overnight. Today, Bulgheroni’s winery, Bodega Garzón, boasts some 40ha of Albariño on its impressive 255ha estate. The combination of ideal terroir, a savvy sales team and sophisticated winemaking, under the guidance of consultant winemaker Alberto Antonini, thrust Garzón’s Albariño onto the world stage and garnered Uruguay some of its most impressive accolades to date.

Between the exemplary wines of Bouza and Garzón, other winemakers decided to take their chances on Albariño, too, and the variety now claims more than 70ha overall – just edging into the country’s top 10 varieties. And I have no doubt we will see more Uruguayan Albariño in the future. Not only does it have a great affinity with Uruguay’s coastal climate, but it’s actually a variety that can reflect very nicely the scope of interpretations by the winemaker.

Bouza led the way with a more voluptuous and full-bodied style, then Garzón came onto the scene with a svelte, mineral style. But Albariño newcomers including Bodegones del Sur, Casa Grande, Cerro del Toro, Don Pascual, Familia Deicas, Marichal and Michelini i Mufatto from Argentina are also throwing their hats into the ring with wines that range from fresh, fruit-forward summer sippers to more complex, ageworthy white blends. There’s a healthy diversity of Albariño wines today, and one winery, Bodega Oceánica, is pushing the coastal wine style even further – by cellaring its Albariño 15m deep in the Atlantic ocean.

Strength in diversity

As well as having a wide range of styles as its strong suit, Uruguay is also home to a great number of grape varieties. The diverse pool of immigrant families that settled in Uruguay in the 19th and 20th centuries all brought their own vines with them from their homelands.

From the southern French varieties of Petit Manseng and Marsanne, to Italian Arneis and Pinot Grigio, the range of varieties found here is increasing all the time. There has also been a reimagining of the traditional white wines of Uruguay – namely Ugni Blanc (the fourth most planted variety) and making white wines from Black Muscat (the second most planted).

‘I believe we can really do something new with these varieties, which are part of our identity and history,’ explains Fabiana Bracco of Bracco Bosca, who started making fine wines from both varieties, sourced from her family’s old vines in Atlántida. ‘When you drop the yield you can see some really nice qualities coming through.’

Bracco was one of the first to bottle these undervalued varieties as a fine wine in 2017. But Proyecto Nakkal has also followed suit, with its Nakcool Blanco blend and pét-nat proving very exciting additions to Uruguay’s wine scene.

Santiago Deicas is another winemaker working with older varieties, making orange wine from Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng. His family has long been a champion of top-quality white wine, too, and hired consultant winemaker Paul Hobbs to help create its Preludio white blend, which was first released in 2004.

More recently, Deicas has also been on a hunt to find new terroirs for white wine. ‘We found a unique sector of soil in Maldonado, which wasn’t granite like most of that region, but had a thick calcareous subsoil with a clay topsoil. So we decided to take off the first metre of top soil and plant directly on the calcareous soils,’ explains Deicas, who has previously employed a digger in his vineyards to invert the soils.

‘We get this incredible expression – with beautiful, slightly wild herbal notes,’ he adds. The wine, Extreme Vineyards Subsuelo Chardonnay, is already sold out in its first vintage. ‘There’s huge potential and demand for white wines in Uruguay,’ continues Deicas. ‘I think we’ll be seeing a lot more Uruguayan white wine in the future.’

Uruguay’s world of white wines has come full tilt since the 1990s and, with the growing pace and innovative spirit of the new generation of winemakers, this white wine tide looks set to keep on rising.

10 top Uruguayan white wines to try

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In recent years, more and more people have been paying attention to Uruguay’s wine scene thanks to the distinctive identity of its coastal regions, which are swept by winds from the Atlantic Ocean and the Río de la Plata.

The country’s proximity to the ocean and one of the largest rivers on the planet means that the vintage effect is quite prominent here. Each harvest depends on the rainfall, sun and strength of the winds experienced that year.

Today, Uruguay has around 5,966ha under vine distributed across six regions. The Río de la Plata and Atlantic keep the climate mild as well as polishing the soils for millions of years.

With unique climatic characteristics, the country’s terroirs allow wineries to produce vibrant whites from Albariño and Sauvignon Blanc. There are also subtle, complex Pinot Noirs and more intense and profound Tannats – the iconic French grape of Uruguayan viticulture. This means that Uruguayan vintners can offer quite distinct wines from those produced in other South American countries such as Argentina and Chile.

Around the regions

Focusing on the areas that are producing the wines attracting global attention, we need to look at Canelones (the largest region, which is also the closest to the capital Montevideo), Maldonado (the ocean region), Colonia to the south, on the shore of the Río de la Plata, and finally Rivera to the north on the Brazilian border.

Although each region experienced slightly different climatic conditions, in 2022 winemakers agreed that they faced similar challenges across the country: a dry season followed by concentrated summer rain.

‘Uruguay enjoyed a satisfying harvest in terms of health and quality,’ says oenologist Ricardo Cabrera Trobo, president of the Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura – Vinos del Uruguay. ‘We were worried about weather issues but fortunately they didn’t materialise. In addition, this year we progressed to stage two of sustainable production certification, which will provide excellent added value for our wines,’ he adds.

Facing challenges

‘I’d say that 2022 was a changeable year that tested the natural qualities of our terroirs,’ comments Germán Bruzzone at Bodega Garzón in Maldonado. ‘It was a challenging period in which we were eventually able to achieve good quality, with somewhat reduced yields, and extremely authentic wines.’

Following an excellent harvest in 2021, in terms of both quality and quantity, ‘the post-harvest period was good with a mild autumn and winter with a below average amount of frosts,’ says Eduardo Boido, winemaker at Bodega Bouza in Montevideo. ‘This allowed us to do everything necessary to prepare the vines for 2022 with no problems.’

However, in spite of good budding rates, the spring was rather unusual. ‘The spring was healthy with no storms or strong winds,’ says Santiago Deicas at Bodega Familia Deicas. ‘But there was a significant drought from mid-spring to the middle of January when heavy, concentrated rain was accompanied by a sharp drop in temperature.’

‘In Uruguay most vineyards aren’t irrigated, we need our water to come naturally, so each year has its own character. 2022 was a year when climate change made itself felt,’ explains Gustavo Pisano at Pisano Wines.

December and January saw some of the highest temperatures on record. However the second halves of January and February were cooler than average and fairly damp. This meant that significant thinning and pruning work was required to keep the grapes healthy.

The job was completed by the wind, which was constant and gentle. Following a cool, dry March, the harvest was finished on time and avoided early frosts, ending with good yields and promising quality among the currently fermenting musts.

What will the wines be like?

The climatic conditions of the 2022 harvest have got tongues wagging about fragrant, vibrant whites and fresh reds with a more easygoing concentration than usual.

‘The Albariño thrived! It has shown us how well suited a variety it is to our oceanic terroir. 2022 will produce some great wines,’ says Deicas. ‘The summer heat waves ensured good health after the rains, while the subsequent cool weather allowed us to produce good quantities of natural acidity and freshness.’ This is true for most of the white varieties across Uruguay.

Bruzzone from Bodega Garzón adds: ‘We had excellent thermal variation, which was good for polyphenolic ripening, producing excellent results for our Tannat, Petit Verdot and Marselan. It’s a year of fresh reds with good colour and a generous body.’

Speaking of Tannat, leading winemaker Francisco Carrau of Bodega Cerro Chapeu believes: ‘2022 will be a year of concentrated Tannats of unusual freshness, something true of all the red varieties.’

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Uruguay’s great ascent

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.

Scroll down for scores and tasting notes for the top 20 Uruguay wines beyond Tannat

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 fifth- generation 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, government- driven 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.

Uruguay: The facts

Area planted (total): 5,991ha

Vineyards: 1,213

Wineries: >160

Annual production: <1.33 million bottles

Top 10 varieties: Tannat (1,610ha); Moscatel de Hamburgo (1,107ha); Merlot (651ha); Ugni Blanc (629ha); Cabernet Sauvignon (363ha); Cabernet Franc (237ha); Marselan (184ha); Sauvignon Blanc (127ha); Chardonnay (108ha); Albariño (69ha)

Source: INAVI, 2018

The advance of Albariño

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.

Single-varietal reds

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.’

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.

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.

Amanda Barnes’ top 20 Uruguay wines beyond Tannat

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Amanda Barnes tasted 73 South American Chardonnays with five outstanding and 43 highly-recommended wines.

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their most recent release 100% Chardonnay wines produced in any region in South America.

The verdict

Only in the last decade has South American Chardonnay become something to get excited about. But, as this tasting reaffirmed, it really is worth getting excited about – especially at the premium end, with complex and engaging wines coming from the coast, desert, mountains and even the wind-beaten steppes of Patagonia.

This impressive surge in quality is ultimately down to the intellectual journey that South America’s winemakers have been on: from their fastidious research into the multitude of soil types and microclimates (even within the same vineyard) to a much more mature approach to winemaking and an increasingly deft hand when it comes to oak ageing.

My standout Chardonnay producers in this tasting all used oak (barrels and foudres) to frame their wines, but none of the wines were overshadowed by oak as they may have been a decade ago.

Instead, most of the top wines shone for their fruit purity and elegance.

Scroll down for Amanda Barnes’ South American Chardonnay tasting notes and scores

Chilean choice

Chile has the lion’s share of plantings with more than 11,200ha – almost double Argentina’s 6,000ha – and Chile is really South America’s Chardonnay heartland, with plantings spanning its kaleidoscope of wine regions.

Although Chile is often accused of playing it a bit safe with its entry- and mid-range wines, when it comes to the premium end Chile has a buffet of exciting wines and styles to choose from.

From the cloudy, unfiltered natural wine of Tara in the Atacama desert to the intriguing Goutte d’Argent made with sake yeast, and the brash style of Matetic’s wild-ferment EQ Quartz from San Antonio, there was nothing pedestrian about this tasting.

As always, Chile’s cool coastal regions really lead in quality for white wines.

Limarí is the standout region for excellent coastal Chardonnay, with two of my top wines in the tasting, Tabalí’s Talinay and Amelia’s Quebrada Seca, overdelivering in both price and quality with aromatic precision, chalky mentality and chiselled acidity.

Leyda Valley isn’t far behind in top quality either, with Viña Leyda’s Lot 5 standing out for complexity and value; but there were vibrant coastal wines from Casablanca, Colchagua and Curicó, too.

The scores

Wines tasted: 73

Exceptional: 0

Outstanding: 5

Highly Recommended: 43

Recommended: 21

Commended: 4

Fair: 0

Poor: 0

Faulty: 0

Southern promise

From Itata southwards, southern Chile is, in my view, an emerging star for Chardonnay, as the top-scoring wines there (including a cool debut vintage from Francisco Baettig’s private label) aptly demonstrated.

There’s similar potential in Argentine Patagonia, in Chubut, where Otronia is making waves with its vibrant, cool-climate wines.

I would like to have seen more wines from both southern Chile (namely Malleco and Osorno) and southern Argentina (Río Negro and Chubut) in this tasting, as they are hotspots for thrilling cool-climate Chardonnay and regions to keep your eye on. No doubt there’s a big future for Chardonnay in the south of both countries, but the wines remain niche for now.

Seriously Argentina

By and large, the mecca for premium Argentinian Chardonnay is the Uco Valley, where Catena Zapata’s White Stones stole the show in this tasting, followed hot on its heels by Viña Cobos’ Bramare single-vineyard Los Arbolitos. These are ageworthy wines which deserve some cellaring, but the Uco Valley, and especially Gualtallary, is also producing exciting mountain wines at affordable weekday price points that deliver great value and style, with bony minerality and delicately floral, peachy expressions.

Uruguay is also upping its Chardonnay game, and although there are barely 100ha planted, there’s an interesting range of expressions, from the creamy, mouthfilling yet energetic style of Familia Deicas in Garzón to the tangy, Chablis-esque style of Cerro del Toro in Piriapolis.

As one of the great ‘terroir translator’ varieties, Chardonnay in South America is now declaring loud and clear that this diverse continent is ready to demand some well-earned respect for its top-end Chardonnay.

Amanda Barnes’ top rated South American Chardonnay

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The parallels are seductive, yet ultimately misleading. There are certain similarities between Uruguay and Argentina, neighbouring countries that face each other across the broad Río de la Plata estuary – a love of football, tango, thick steaks and yerba mate infusions – but they are very different places.

It’s not just a question of size. Uruguay is the second-smallest country in South America after Suriname; Argentina is the second biggest after Brazil. It’s also about culture, politics, economics and, generalising slightly, national character. Both are countries of immigrants, largely from Europe, but if Argentina is more ‘Mediterranean’ in terms of its landscape and the temperament of its inhabitants, Uruguay is ‘Atlantic’: greener, wetter, more reflexive, even a little mournful. Sometimes, it feels like Brittany, Galicia or the Portuguese Minho.

Uruguay is a Latin American success story. The Economist has rightly called it ‘an island of calm in a tumultuous region’. It is prosperous, liberal, secular and democratic, with an independent press and judiciary, free healthcare, and education and corruption levels that are almost on a par with Switzerland’s. No wonder Jorge Drexler, Uruguay’s most famous singer, dubs it a ‘forgotten Eden’.

The Uruguayans are enthusiastic wine drinkers: per capita consumption is the highest in the world outside Europe, at 22 litres, even if most of what’s swallowed locally is pretty ordinary, often based on Black Muscat and sold as vino común (VC). As it is in Argentina, wine is part of everyday life – an alcoholic beverage drunk with a meal. The more ambitious stuff – labelled as vino de calidad preferente (VCP) – accounts for about 20% of production, but is growing in importance and quality.

New plantings

Earlier this year, I went back to Uruguay after a gap of two decades. Some things were the same – too much indiscriminate use of American oak – but way more had changed for the better. I’ll get to that in a minute. First, let’s look at a few statistics. Uruguay’s wine industry is small compared with Argentina’s and Chile’s. It has 6,144ha, 1,271 registered vineyards (73% of which are of less than five hectares) and 211 bodegas, of which about 40 export. Most wineries are family-owned, reflecting the way the industry developed, especially after phylloxera, with a lot of wine made for home consumption.

Uruguay grows grapes in 15 of its 19 departments, but the majority of the vineyards are located in just five of them: Canelones (65.9%), Montevideo (12%), Maldonado (6.4%), Colonia (6%) and San José (4.8%). Proximity to Montevideo, home to more than 40% of the country’s population, has always been and remains important. At one point in the mid-1950s, Uruguay had 19,000ha, but these were dominated by the native American variety Isabella (called Frutilla locally) and various hybrids, mostly used to produce pink wines. Since the 1980s, Uruguay has been actively engaged in reconverting its vineyards with Vitis vinifera grapes, according to Reinaldo De Lucca of De Lucca Wines.

Tannat, unsurprisingly, is Uruguay’s most planted variety, accounting for 26.6% of the area under vine. After that, it’s a very mixed bag: Black Muscat (18.9%), Merlot (11.2%), Ugni Blanc (10.5%), Cabernet Sauvignon (6.5%), Cabernet Franc (3.9%), Marselan (2.6%), Sauvignon Blanc (2.1%), Chardonnay (1.7%) and Isabella (1.1%). Further down the list, in order of importance, are Albarino, Syrah, Viognier, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo, Semillon, Torrontés, Riesling, Nebbiolo, Roussanne, Marsanne, Chenin Blanc, Garnacha, Mourvèdre and Barbera. Quite the United Nations.

Warm and dry

If Uruguay’s vineyards are diverse, its climate is considerably more homogenous. Mild and humid, Uruguay is mostly flat – its highest point is a distinctly un-Andean 513m – characterised by inland rivers, green fields, rolling hills and the odd beach. Rain varies between 950mm in the south and 1,400mm in the sub-tropical north bordering Brazil. The southern wine-growing areas, namely Canelones, Montevideo and especially Maldonado, are also cooler because of their proximity to the Río de la Plata and the Atlantic ocean, while the further west and north you move towards Colonia, Paysandú, Durazno and Rivera, the warmer the summer and the earlier the harvest.

The other important factor in Uruguay is wind, a constant companion if you are visiting many of the country’s vineyards. As Santiago Deicas of Familia Deicas told me, standing in the middle of his stunning new Cerro del Guazuvirá vineyard in Lavalleja, ‘wind is more relevant than altitude’.

Uruguay’s climate is changing because of global warming. Some argue that this will alter the character of the country’s wines, with higher alcohol levels and softer tannins. Uruguay still has its share of very wet vintages – 2001, 2007, 2019 and especially 2014 – but 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018 were all hot and dry and seem to be part of a trend.

Will this be too much of a good thing? Everything is relative. Montevideo isn’t Mendoza. As Martín Viggiano of Cerro del Toro puts it: ‘Uruguay is all about freshness, rather than concentration.’ Even with more sunshine, it will remain what expat Kiwi winemaker Duncan Killiner calls a ‘warmer version of Bordeaux in many ways’. And, as in Bordeaux, the best vintages are arguably those that are dry and cool: 2002, 2011 and especially 2017.

All about Tannat

Uruguay’s soils are diverse, with 99 different types. The ones closer to rivers are more alluvial, those in the centre of the country drier and poorer and, most distinctive of all, those in Maldonado and Lavalleja, two of the most exciting regions in South America, are granite-based. The majority of the vineyards, however, are on clay and calcium carbonate soils in the hills to the north of Montevideo – Tannat country par excellence.

For the wines, it makes sense to start with Tannat, Uruguay’s signature grape, grown here since 1871, when it was imported from Argentina by the Basque Pascual Harriague. The grape of Madiran in France has a chewy, protein-friendly image, but produces wines of differing styles in its adopted home. Tannat can certainly make structured, toothsome reds that age brilliantly – I had a delicious Cerro Chapeu, Tannat del Museo 1979 during my trip – but in the right hands it can also yield juicy, comparatively supple wines.

Nor does it have to be heavily oaked. The theory in some quarters is that the variety needs time in barrels, especially American barrels with their more open pores, to polymerise its tannins. But it all depends on how much you extract in the first place. As Gabriel Pisano of Viña Progreso puts it: ‘People think Tannat needs lots of oak, but it’s not true.’ I agree. Look out for unwooded examples from Pisano, as well as Familia Deicas, Pizzorno and Viñedo de los Vientos, among others.

Tannat also needs to be handled carefully in the winery. One way to open it up is micro- oxygenation, a system invented by Patrick Ducournau in Madiran that bubbles oxygen through the wine during maturation. Some wineries use this in Uruguay – Giménez Méndez is one – but others argue that it can diminish overall complexity as well as softening Tannat’s rougher edges. Open fermenters and regular racking are regarded as preferable by some winemakers.

The other way to tame Tannat is by blending. During my visit I tasted cuvées that married Tannat with all sorts of things – not just the usual Bordeaux suspects of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot, but also Marselan, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Souzão, Syrah, Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional, Viognier and Zinfandel. It’s a very adaptable grape that works well with a variety of partners. It is also, in the right spot and with the right viticulture and winemaking, capable of producing world-class wines on its own.

Other varieties

Tannat and Tannat blends accounted for most of the top reds I sampled in Uruguay, but I’d also point you in the direction of Garzón’s Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, Bouza’s Merlot, Giménez Méndez’s Malbec and Viñedo de los Vientos’ Nebbiolo. Tannat is king, but it has lots of courtiers and even the odd pretender to its throne, particularly Cabernet Franc.

Reds outnumber whites by a factor of four to one in Uruguay, but the latter are worth a detour, too. The most planted white grape is the neutral Ugni Blanc, much of which comes from lesser, low-lying zones. Much better are the wines made with Chardonnay (Bodega Oceánica, Bouza and Viña Edén), Marsanne (De Lucca), Petit Manseng (Bodegas Carrau), Sauvignon Blanc (Garzón, Giménez Méndez and Pizzorno), Torrontés (Pisano Wines), Riesling (Bouza) and Viognier (Viña Progreso), and the impressive blends from Bizarra Extravaganza, Bouza, Cerro Chapeu, Familia Deicas and Viñedo de los Vientos.

For all that, the best whites I sampled were the Albarinos from Bouza, Cerro del Toro and Garzón. This grape is comparatively young in Uruguay, planted as recently as 2001 by the Bouza family, who were familiar with the grape due to their Galician roots. Even today, there are only 58ha in the whole country, 35ha of which are on the Garzón estate. Eduardo Félix, the viticulturist in charge of this world- class property, predicts that: ‘Within five years, Albarino will be an iconic grape in Uruguay. You can see that it feels perfectly at home in our Atlantic climate.’ It does indeed.

Twenty-one years after my first visit, the country’s wine industry remains comparatively small, but Uruguay wines have improved immeasurably. A generation of younger winemakers has injected new energy, as has the development of the Maldonado region and the investment of Garzón. More consistent harvests thanks to warmer temperatures have also helped, as has less reliance on new wood in lieu of grape quality. Uruguay – proudly different from its much larger neighbour to the south – is making the best wines in its history.

Atkin’s pick: six top Uruguay wines to try

See also: Anson: How Uruguay could be the new Jura

An essential ingredient in many great wines, Cabernet Franc never quite seems to have received its due in the Loire Valley, Bordeaux or Tuscany – an injustice that winemakers in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay are looking to put right. Even though just 3,000ha are under vine, South America has been doing a lot more to improve its reputation than many Old World producers. In the warm, dry conditions found in South American vineyards, Cabernet Franc ripens better, with fewer pyrazines (which give a leafy, green pepper character) and gentler tannins.

In Argentina, there is already talk about the rise of ‘Franc’ even though there are only 1,146ha under vine (compared with 40,000ha of Malbec). It partners well with Malbec, bringing enhanced freshness and a lighter structure, but it quickly began to stand out on its own.

‘Cab Franc expresses itself differently at different altitudes,’ says Alejandro Vigil, oenologist at Catena Zapata and Bodega Aleanna, and the producer of the most highly rated Cabernet Franc in South America. ‘It reflects distinct Mendozan terroirs as clearly as Malbec.’

Although old vines exist in Mendoza, in Maipú and in Luján de Cuyo, the current boom began 15 years ago with clones (#214 and #327) introduced in the late 20th century. With 261ha at 700m-1,000m, Luján de Cuyo ensures rich dark fruits, full body and juicy acidity. In the cooler Uco Valley, 462ha are planted at 1,000m-1,400m, the wines taut with red fruits and a balsamic profile. To the north it is grown above 1,700m, resulting in powerful, fresh wines with moderate pyrazines. In Patagonia, the profile is more like that found in the Old World.

In Chile, 1,646ha of Cabernet Franc are distributed mainly across Maipo, Maule and Colchagua, although it is also grown by the coast. Only about 30 Chilean Cabernet Franc varietal wines currently exist and the leafy profile varies according to the climate, but the grape is often found in good blends. ‘We’ve started to pay it attention, but it’s not an easy grape to get right in Chile,’ says Rafael Urrejola, who makes single-varietal Cabernet Franc in Maipo for Undurraga’s Terroir Hunter TH range. Winemakers tend to find the leafy, pyrazine profile a little daunting for single varietal bottlings.

Finally, with its 240ha under vine, Uruguay is producing some very good Cabernet Francs from vineyards close to the Río de la Plata and in the east. Although no one distinctive style has yet emerged, winemakers are optimistic about its future near the ocean. Bodega Garzón and Viña Progreso are the wineries most worth keeping an eye on right now.

Alejandro Iglesias’ top South American Cabernet Franc recommendations

Exploring Uruguay and its wine regions feels like you’ve just been let in on one of South America’s best kept secrets. One of the smallest countries on the continent, Uruguay doesn’t have the same bombastic personality as some of its Latin American neighbours, but sits as a silent siren for those in the know. Uruguay’s steadily growing economy and progressive politics have made it a haven for international investment, and its sleepy capital city is increasingly cosmopolitan, with Uruguay’s wine culture coming to the fore. As word gets out, there’s no better time to discover its capital, Montevideo, and nearby wine route.

Discovering Montevideo

The tortured notes of the ivories being tickled are all the more soul-stirring under candlelight. The pianist expertly pulls us through undulating emotions as he pieces together tango songs that were first written on the streets of Montevideo a century ago. Although this tango dinner show at Primuseum is number one on TripAdvisor, the small collection of warmly lit tables huddled around the piano and its pile of crusty old music sheets is satisfyingly intimate and personal. The friendly waiter pours me another glass of rich Tannat as I dig into my steak and wonder why Montevideo never received the same acclaim for its steak and tango as Buenos Aires.

Tango was, after all, invented between the ports and streets of both cities, and the steak is every bit as good (if not better, dare I say) in this country where cows outnumber people three to one. But Uruguayans don’t boast about their claim to tango or steak. Nor do they often confess that they have the longest carnival in the world – their 40 days makes Rio’s six look positively meagre. ‘We don’t really like to talk about ourselves too much,’ a Uruguayan friend tells me the next evening over wine in a hip urban market, Mercado Ferrando. ‘It just isn’t our style.’

Although no one will admit it, style seems effortless in Montevideo. The streets are a parade of architecture movements ranging from neoclassical giants like the Palacio Salvo and Teatro Solís theatre to belle-époque facades and modernist beach houses, which are all nonchalantly strung together. Even the airport has garnered design awards.

‘Montevideo has more art-deco architecture than any city other than New York – and yet it’s still off the radar as a destination,’ British-born Karen Higgs, author of the Guru’Guay Guide to Montevideo, tells me over coffee in the Old City where she’s been based since 2000. ‘The secret delights of Montevideo are not immediately evident, which is what makes their discovery all the more delightful.’

Montevideo’s streets can in fact feel eerily quiet during the afternoons, and it’s hard to believe that one-third of the country lives here. In the world’s most laid-back capital city, sipping yerba mate on the 22km seafront promenade constitutes a significant portion of weekend plans. In the evening, however, Montevideo is a hive of cultural activity – albeit mainly behind closed doors.

The Old City’s historic bars and cafes are a good place to start, and hark back to the golden era of Uruguay’s literati (including many tango composers). Catching a milonga dance is a quintessential Montevideo experience, but it is perhaps the murga that gives you a deeper insight into the idiosyncrasies of Uruguayan culture. This street performance combining political satire with comedy and song is a pillar of Uruguayan carnival, but performances and rehearsals are held year-round. Another rich cultural expression of Uruguay is candombe – an invigorating dance performed to the beat of many drums, which tells the tales of the African slave experience in Uruguay.

Canelones wine route

From culture to wine, the journey is easy, vineyards appearing before you reach the city limits – nearby Canelones became Uruguay’s prime vine-growing territory in the 20th century precisely because of its proximity to the thirsty domestic market. The mild Atlantic climate is also conducive to quality grape production, with rich clay soils spread across the undulating hillsides which channel refreshing coastal breezes – essential in this more humid climate.

Although Canelones hosts two-thirds of Uruguay’s wine production, 90% of the wineries are family-owned and it is often the family who welcome you in. Most are boutique producers, and each family puts its own unique stamp on its wines – as a result, exploring Canelones provides a wealth of diversity in wine styles and varieties.

‘A big difference in Uruguay [compared to Chile and Argentina] is that we do experience significant vintage variation here, which keeps us on our toes!’ explains Eduardo Boido, winemaker at Bouza, which sits at the gateway of Canelones. ‘Some years are better for white varieties and others for red, but Tannat emerged as Uruguay’s champion because we get great colour, acidity and concentration year on year.’

Tannat is Uruguay’s most widely planted grape variety, but there are many others that show promise, including Albarino. The Bouza family was the first to plant this Galician white grape, which thrives in Uruguay’s similar Atlantic conditions, as an ode to its Galician ancestors. This Spanish flair also makes its way onto the menu at Bouza’s excellent restaurant, which vies for attention with its extensive vintage car collection.

Another top spot for lunch is Artesana, some 30 minutes’ drive deeper into Canelones. This boutique winery was the first to plant Zinfandel, inspired by the California-based owners, and its outdoor restaurant among the vines is an excellent place to sample Uruguay’s only Zinfandel paired with a wood-fire menu.

The Pizzorno family also offers an intimate lunch and tasting, where you can explore its 80-year winemaking heritage and allow your mind – and tannic preconceptions – to be blown by tasting Uruguay’s first carbonic-maceration Tannat.

Another interesting exploration of Tannat is tasting the Familia Deicas terroir range at Juanicó, one of Uruguay’s leading producers with the oldest cellar in the country, constructed in 1830. Other notable historic wine families to visit include Carrau, Antigua Bodega Stagnari, Varela Zarranz and Los Nadies, ranging from major players to boutique.

There’s no lack of cellars to discover tucked into the folds of Canelones and Montevideo, and the wine families of this region will encourage you to continue your discovery of Uruguayan wine by visiting the nearby wine routes of Atlántida, Colonia and Maldonado too. Start planning your next trip to Uruguay now – you’ve just been made privy to South America’s best-kept wine secret.

Fact file: Uruguay

Area planted 6,343ha (26% Tannat)

Wineries 176

Exports to 51 countries

Accommodation, restaurant & bar suggestions

Accommodation

Casa Sarandi

For a home away from home, Casa Sarandi B&B offers plenty of character, comfort and all the insider information you could want. A cultural immersion in Montevideo’s Old City.

• Buenos Aires 558, Piso 3, Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo 11200

Sofitel Montevideo

This 1921 art deco hotel is dubbed ‘palace in the sand’ for its prime beachside location in upmarket Carrasco. The epitome of opulent luxury, with handsome suites, a great restaurant, well-stocked cellar and a ritzy casino.

• Rbla Republica de Mexico 6451, 11500 Montevideo

Restaurants & bars

Alquimista

Tucked away in a peaceful corner of Carrasco, this B&B-turned-restaurant has tables set in different rooms of the house and garden, making you feel more like a guest than a diner. The innovative and colourful Uruguayan dishes are top restaurant quality.

• Avenida Bolivia 1323, CP: 11400, Carrasco, Montevideo

Mercado del Puerto

Eating at Montevideo’s main market is more about the all-round experience than the quality. A carnivore’s delight, your eyes will water at the sight of so much asado (slow-cooked barbecue) – and that’s before the smoke hits.

• Rambla 25 de Agosto de 1825, Montevideo

Primuseum

If you want a side of tango with your steak, Primuseum is the place for you. This intimate restaurant set in an antiques museum in the Old City serves a Uruguayan tasting menu while local musicians deliver a captivating show.

• Pérez Castellano 1389, Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo
• Open: Wednesday-Sunday from 8.30pm

Lo de Porro

Lo de Porro in Las Piedras, a typical bar of yesteryear where wine is served by the jug and pasta is freshly rolled each day.

• Batlle y Ordoñez esq. Garibaldi, Las Piedras
• Open: Tuesday 11am-4pm & 8pm-12am, Wednesday-Saturday 8pm-12am, Sunday-Monday closed

Barolo

The impressive cellar of Barolo stocks some 160 labels which can be ordered by the glass or flight, or uncorked at Fellini restaurant next door.

• Arocena 2098, 11500 Montevideo
• Barolo: Wednesday-Saturday 8pm-12am
• Fellini: Monday-Friday 8pm-12.30am, Saturday 12pm-4pm & 8pm-12am, Sunday 12pm-4pm

Madirán & Mercado Ferrando

This urban market has several eateries, bars and boutiques ranging from gastronomy book shops to artisanal tap houses. Wine lovers should visit Madirán wine bar for its eclectic selection.

• Chaná 2120 esq. Joaquín de Salterain (Barrio Cordón, Montevideo)
• Open: Monday-Saturday 8am-1am, Sundays 9am-4pm

Montevideo Wine Experience

Under the expert eye (and fluent English conversation) of Nicolás and Liber, a couple of hours here will give you a whirlwind introduction to Uruguayan wine. Stay late for the live music sessions.

• Piedras 300 esquina Colón, Montevideo
• Monday, Wednesday-Sunday 1pm-11pm, Tuesday closed

Getting there

Montevideo airport has daily flights from Madrid, Miami and Buenos Aires, or you can take a two-hour ferry from Buenos Aires.

More wine travel guides here

Tannat. It’s a punchy name that rolls off the tongue. In that respect it’s similar to its other six-letter companion in South America, Malbec, and the two have much in common in terms of stylistic appeal. Uruguay’s Tannat is so often misunderstood to be a synonym for tannic wine. Yet the traditionally tough French variety has relaxed in its South American landscape and become something much more approachable. Could Tannat be set to invade the wine shelves? For sure. There’s plenty to enjoy with supple, drink-me-now, fruit-laden styles, as well as structured I-need-time, more serious approaches.

Tannat’s history in Uruguay is relatively short. The grape arrived with Basque settlers in the 1870s, when it was called Harriague. Today most of the original plant material has been replaced by better quality French imports. It’s the most dominant variety, and the leading red variety in the country. Three-quarters of Uruguay’s vineyards are 20 years old or younger, and a similar proportion are smaller than 5ha, though the number of small vineyards has declined over the past decade.

Scroll down to see the top 18 Uruguayan Tannats

Production areas are clustered around the country’s south, with influences from the River Plate to the west and the Atlantic to the east. The Canelones region dominates the south, with two-thirds of the nation’s production. Indeed, more than half of all Uruguayan wines are produced within a 50km radius of its capital Montevideo. Well below Canelones in production terms come Montevideo itself and Colonia, San José and Maldonado; Durazno is in the centre of the country.

International influence

Maldonado is small in size, but big on reputation – and it won more high scores than Canelones in this tasting.In Maldonado, Bodega Garzón is the big name, a glamorous investment from Argentina, close to the Atlantic, exploiting the granite, the altitude and the ocean freshness. The consultant is Italian Alberto Antonini, who has created a little bit of Tuscan heaven with the immaculate vineyards. There are other international consultants in Uruguay: Michel Rolland has worked with Narbona in Carmelo and Maldonado; while Paul Hobbs is at Familia Deicas, working across Maldonado, San José and Progreso, Canelones.

Stylistically the best Tannats show a distinctive freshness, with well-balanced alcohol, so there’s less risk of plump, heavy, overdone wines. However the less successful examples still carry too much oak, and green tannin. This blind tasting focused on 100% Tannat, or blends with up to 15% of other varieties. It showed that 100% Tannat doesn’t need any friends to accompany it – but in terms of blending, Merlot and Syrah, and indeed Viognier, looked promising. Garzón has a particularly good Cabernet Franc-Tannat blend, for instance (£15.99, Liberty Wines, 2017 vintage). There is also a growing sense of adventure around the country’s top wines, with Tannat figuring in multi-varietal blends.

Wines shown were the top picks of 72 tasted blind at Decanter’s offices.

Sarah Jane Evans MW is one of our three DWWA Co-Chairs and a former Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine

See the top 18 Uruguayan Tannats

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Maldonado: Uruguay’s coastal region

Juan Bouza, the owner of Bodega Bouza in Uruguay, is a calm, softly spoken guy with kind manners. However, at the wheel of his small all-terrain jeep, with the sea breezes blowing in his hair, he seems to transform. We drive up and down the near-vertical paths in his vineyards at the foot of the Pan de Azúcar hill.

Scroll down to see Tapia’s pick of wines from Maldonado

Bouza is going full speed – I don’t quite fear for my life, but we’re certainly going fast. Bouza planted Pan de Azúcar in 2010. Aware that he could obtain something special from this site, located 88km east of the capital Montevideo, he decided to plant some 7ha with Riesling and Merlot, grapes that could adapt to cooler conditions. ‘The vineyard is about 4km from the sea,’ says Bouza. ‘There is a gentle wind that comes from the Atlantic, which starts to blow after noon and moderates the temperatures noticeably.’

In addition to these marine breezes, there are unique soil conditions here. The Bouza vineyards further inland, in Uruguay’s main viticultural area of Canelones, are planted in heavier and less permeable soils. At the foot of the Pan de Azúcar, these clays are transformed into decomposed rocks of great permeability, a crucial factor in rainy Uruguay. ‘The first wines we have produced have shown that we can obtain fresher flavours and a little less alcohol, which is something we’ve been trying to achieve for a while now,’ Bouza adds.

The Bodega Bouza style has previously been characterised by ripeness and extraction, but the Pan de Azúcar Merlot 2016 takes another direction. The sea breezes help produce flavours of red fruits, with delicate tannins and crunchy acidity. The Pan de Azúcar Riesling 2016 shows a similar freshness, this time with mineral touches, creating one of the best whites in Uruguay today.

Well inclined

Although Bouza is a pioneer in this area, the Bay of Maldonado (where Pan de Azúcar is located) has been the subject of research since 2006, when Bodega Familia Deicas planted in the region of Garzón. ‘Since 2000, we have been looking for areas closer to the sea,’ recalls Santiago Deicas, head of oenology at the winery. ‘We saw that in those soils and with that coastal influence, Tannat could produce different flavours.’

He believes that granite soils can give sharper, more direct and vertical wines and that the influence of the sea – some 20km away – gives fresher fruit notes. ‘But we were also interested in the slopes of the terrain, sometimes up to 25% degrees of inclination, which give us different orientations to play with,’ adds Deicas.

The family planted 16ha of predominantly Tannat, a selection of fruit from which goes into the Valle de los Manantiales Tannat 2016. Compared with examples from the more compact clays and limestone soils of the winery’s Canelones vineyards further west, this wine feels much fruitier and, above all, finer, fresher and more delineated.

Seeing potential

Also taking advantage of these undulations in the terrain and the different sun exposures, Bodega Garzón began to plant its impressive Garzón vineyard, some 18km from the sea, a decade ago. It is a massive project of 220ha, financed by the Argentine oil magnate Alejandro Bulgheroni. From a distance, you can see this sea of vineyards, divided into 220 small plots with an average size of 0.2ha. A total of 12 different grape varieties have been planted, with Tannat playing an important role, as well as Albariño, of which there are 35ha. ‘Apart from the cold influence of the sea, it is important to bear in mind that these granite soils are less fertile than those of Canelones clays, therefore the flavours feel more concentrated,’ says Bodega Garzón’s consultant, Italian Alberto Antonini.

For its Single Vineyard Albariño 2017, Garzón has selected the vineyard closest to the sea, about 15km away. It consists of three plots totalling a single hectare, all facing the Atlantic. This white is radiant and mineral, full of white fruits, and with a creamy texture – a wine that’s difficult to stop drinking.

These coastal wines are evidence of the potential of the Maldonado region. Compared with 4,207ha in Canelones (64% of Uruguay’s total), vineyard plantings in Maldonado currently only run to 332ha, or 5% of the total. This is likely to increase.

Uruguay’s viticulture, with its humid climate and the strong influence of the mighty Río de la Plata, offers completely different flavours from those that can be obtained in other, warmer areas of South America, such as large parts of Argentina or Chile. To that picture, we must now add the Atlantic influence and a whole new collection of delicious and refreshing wines.

Tasting the wines of Maldonado:

Patricio Tapia is a regular Decanter contributor and the author of the annual Descorchados guide to the wines of South America

The latest international name to be on the Place to Bordeaux...

The latest name on the Place de Bordeaux

2017 is almost certainly the year that Punte del Este – and more particularly the rather sleepy but gourmet village of Garzon, just a little further inland, has come to the attention of the Bordeaux elite.

This is a place where Charlotte Gainsbourg and Naomi Campbell are regular visitors, where Martin Amis has a house just up the coast and ‘fire pit king’ chef Francis Mallmann has a celebrated restaurant and hotel. To date around 75% of the guests who arrive in this corner of Uruguay are Argentinian, but the locals just might find that they have a few more Bordeaux châteaux owners turning up over the next few years.

To be honest, the Bordelais might not be entirely thrilled about why it has suddenly arrived on their radar – a wine from Garzon has provided the latest international name to muscle its way on to the Place de Bordeaux – but they will no doubt be eyeing up the beaches and chic resort hotels of Punte del Este as an alternative to Cap Ferret next year.

• Anson: Why Uruguay could be the new Jura

• Uruguayan cost travel guide

Balasto

The news was announced via a low key, convivial evening in Bordeaux during Vinexpo, at a party thrown by Bodega Garzon owner Alejandro Bulgheroni (or Don Alejandro as he seems to be known to all). He was joined by Mallmann and Iong-term Italian consultant Alberto Antonini; the man who first confirmed to Bulgheroni that vines could be planted in Garzon, and who worked on the flaship Balasto wine for five years before the launch of its 2015 vintage at the Vinexpo dinner. It is this wine that is to join the small circle of non-Bordeaux names distributed by négociants through the Place de Bordeaux.

Measuring its success over the next few years, I can promise you, is going to be interesting. The non-Bordeaux wines currently sold through the Place include Opus One, Almaviva, Seña, Masseto and Château de Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin.

‘What happens now is going to be a fascinating indication of how far the négociant system can evolve.’

All were either linked to Bordeaux estates, or were established brands when they began distributing a limited amount of their production through Bordeaux merchants. All are ‘investment-grade’ wines, and have strong critical recognition. Balasto is a new launch, as yet untested by critics, from a region that is barely on the quality winemaking register. What happens now is going to be a fascinating indication of how far the négociant system can evolve. We all know that Bordeaux merchants need to look beyond en primeur to survive – will this provide a test case?

‘We see being a newcomer from South America as an advantage,’ strategist Andres Ballesteros told me this week.

‘Our biggest challenge right now is that we don’t have older vintages to show how the wine evolves, not where the wine comes from. The reality is that when négociants first began distributing Seña and Almaviva, for example, they had to contend with the fact that these are premium wines from Chile – a country that has taken a long time to be associated with truly high-end wines. Uruguay is an entirely new proposition, and doesn’t come with any preconceived ideas, which gives us a certain amount of freedom to establish the Balasto brand’.

An optimistic view perhaps, but there are other ways that the wine is avoiding South American ‘icon wine’ stereotypes. Named after the ‘ballast’ granite soils of Garzon, Balasto is a blend of Tannat, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Marselan, vinified in cement vats and aged in neutral French oak barrels, with the intention to keep the focus on the ‘energy and aromatics’ of the wine, in the words of Antonini, and not on new oak flavours. The result is a wine that they hope will surprise many in its elegance and ageability.

• Oak barrels: What they do to wine

Ballesteros is in a good position to judge, having spent the last ten years getting to grips with the often bizarre workings of the Bordeaux négociant system. He was part of the Almaviva team from 2013 to 2016 – whose sells almost 90% of their production through the Place – and before that spent eight years establishing Concha Y Toro (half of the Almaviva ownership, alongside Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA) across Asia, living in Malaysia, China, Singapore and Bangkok.

‘The key thing for any brand owner to bear in mind is that there are rules when dealing with the Place de Bordeaux, and you need to understand the business model before engaging’.

Those rules, he contends, surround the inflexibility and effectiveness of a system that has channels into the most exclusive distribution outlets in the world through being, in effect, a high-end brokerage system.

‘The Bordeaux négociants have all the right contacts, and open all the right doors,’ he says, ‘but you have to play by their rules.’

‘You can’t step on their shoes by going direct to their customers to arrange tastings and events, you can’t give exclusivities to anyone in the markets you are working on with them. And most importantly, you have to realise that they are not brand builders. But they are the best at accompanying you as you build your own brand, and the system is extremely powerful when it works’.

There are reasons to believe that Balasto can make a success of this. Bulgheroni, for a start, is worth an estimated US$3.6 billion, which gives plenty of budget for brand building. He inherited Argentine energy firm Bridas Corps from his father in 1985 and in 2011, together with his late brother Carlos, sold a 50% stake to China’s state overseas oil company CNOOC, although he remains as president and chairman. He bought land around the coastal Uruguayan village of Garzon in 1999, planting vines in 2006 with the help of Antonini and today owns organic and biodynamic wineries in Uruguay, Argentina, Patagonia, Australia, California, Tuscany and Bordeaux. He will become the largest vineyard owner in Tuscany within the next few years, according to Garzon’s managing director Christian Wylie.

Balasto has so far been placed with two ‘top ten’ négociants, Garzon’s managing director Christian Wylie confirmed, including LDVins that focuses mainly on the Asian market. The aim, so I was told by Ballesteros, is to keep the numbers at a maximum of five ‘until we have built some momentum’. The wine will go out, as with the other international wines, in September each year when bottled, rather than as an en primeur.

It’s easy to question whether the Place de Bordeaux is the best way to launch an entirely new wine, and whether the Bordelais will be able to capitalise on the potential of what they are selling.

It might help if they know that there is another, more roundabout, link between Don Alejandro and Bordeaux. Alberto Antonini is consultant for almost all of his estates, including Garzon, except for those based in Napa and Bordeaux.

For these, Bulgheroni has called on another consultant, a little better known around these parts, and who might be able to a good word in for it with his négociant friends: Michel Rolland.

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Decanter magazine: October 2016

10 best terroirs in Argentina: Tim Atkin MW names the best regions to look out for, and recommends 20 wines to try

Chilean Syrah: John Stimpfig is in no doubt of the Rhône grape’s worldclass potential in Chile

Crossing the Andes: Winemakers often move into Argentina from Chile, but not often in the other direction. Patricio Tapia explains why

Producer profile: Zorzal Sarah Jane Evans MW reports on innovation and adventure in Mendoza, and the stellar rise of the brothers Michelini

Regional profile: Itata, Chile Alistair Cooper finds ancient vines and elegant wines in one of Chile’s oldest regions

Brazil’s golden dawn: Top awards in this year’s DWWA signal exciting times for Brazil, says Paul Medder

Uruguay: This small but characterful nation has a big reputation for its Tannat reds, but there’s huge potential for its whites too, says Amanda Barnes

Piedmont top 10: Stephen Brook gives a personal insight into his favourite producers in Barolo and Barbaresco, and picks two great wines from each

Getting the grapes in: Low pay and hard physical labour: it’s the lot of the anonymous ranks of grape pickers in vineyards the world over. Julian Hitner celebrates the invaluable role they play

Uco Valley Malbec 150 wines tasted: Sub-regional styles are a work in progress, but Uco offers fresh, consistent, fruit-forward reds.

Coastal Chilean Pinot Noir 76 wines tasted Consistency, value, diversity and a strong performance from the northern vineyards.

Expert’s choice: South American sparkling Fast-improving quality and great value from Chile, Argentina and Brazil, says Patricio Tapia.

Travel: Northern Rhône Dramatic scenery and the world’s finest Syrah. Matt Walls is our guide

Never miss an issue and subscribe to Decanter

For a memorable holiday filled with sun, sand, sea – and Tannat – head to Maldonado, Uruguay’s newest and most exciting wine region along the Atlantic Coast. Patricio Tapia reports in his Uruguayan coast travel guide.

FACT FILE

Total planted area 8,851ha

Coastal plantings 278ha

Maldonado production 1.3 million kg annually

Main grapes Red: Tannat, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon White: Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño

Main soil types Granite, sand, clay and limestone

Quick links:

• My perfect day on the Uruguayan coast
• Uruguayan coast: where to stay, eat, shop and relax

People applaud when watching the sunset in Punta del Este. Gazing over the sea in one of South America’s most famous and chic Atlantic coast resort towns, they clap as the sun disappears into the horizon and fall silent before the reddened sky hanging over the water. Then they make a toast.

With just under 9,000 hectares of vineyards, Uruguay is boutique in South American terms, compared with Argentina’s 200,000ha or Chile’s multi-zeroed international export figures. That’s not a lot of Uruguayan wine to toast sunsets. But what there is, is good. And sometimes, it’s excellent.

Nearly 80% of those 9,000 hectares are concentrated around the country’s capital, Montevideo, in the wine region of Canelones. Some of Uruguay’s best-kept wine secrets hail from here – especially secrets made with Tannat, a rustic and difficult variety that can produce sublime wines, but only when planted in the right place and treated with care.

If you turn right as you leave the tiny but very modern Carrasco International Airport, you can drive to Montevideo in 40 minutes; just a short while longer and you’ll reach the country’s most important wineries. But if your plan is not only to drink wine, but visit lovely beaches too, then turn left toward Punta del Este, towards the grey-sand beaches of José Ignacio, the rural peacefulness of Garzón and those applause-filled sunsets. Visit Maldonado, the newest of Uruguay’s wine regions.

The first winery along the route – actually still in Canelones but just 30 minutes’ drive from the airport – is Viñedo de los Vientos (www. vinedodelosvientos.com). Just 5km from the Río de la Plata estuary, this little winery owned by Pablo Fallabrino and his wife Mariana Cerutti is unlike any other in South America. With 16ha of vineyards and a production of 60,000 bottles a year, the couple make truly unique wines. Take Estival, for example. A blend of early-picked Chardonnay, late-picked Gewurztraminer and equally overripe Moscato Bianco, it is an unusual white, but in a very good way. Fragrant and juicy with the acidity brought by the winds off the Río de la Plata, it is a perfect summer aperitif.

There’s not the space to delve into some of the other delicious oddities here (Fallabrino and Cerutti make wines more by instinct than by oenology), but the Viñedo de Los Vientos tasting room is worth a detour. As is their food. The winery’s stand at the Tannat & Lamb Festival, organised by the Caminos del Vino wine tourism route every June, is the one of the event’s most popular, with meat that falls off the bone, served with one of their rich Tannat blends.

Coastal views

Despite June being the month for drinking Tannat and eating lamb, the weather on the Uruguayan coast can be ruthless. It’s best to visit during summer, from December through to early March. The sun is almost guaranteed to shine and the water is certain to be warm. Perfect conditions to continue along our route to Alto de la Ballena (www.altodelaballena.com).

A half hour’s drive from Punta del Este, this 9ha vineyard extends out over a hillside facing the Atlantic, some 14km away. The view from the top is unbeatable: the landscape is dominated by gentle, green-carpeted slopes with the silhouette of the sea in the distance. Breezes slide across these rocky soils as if they were a skating rink.

It was here in 1998 that husband and wife Paula Pivel and Alvaro Lorenzo decided to turn their backs on careers as business executives and devote themselves to wine. It has been a radical change but a successful one, and they now make very fresh Atlantic-influenced wines, such as the Cetus Syrah that grows in the highest part of the vineyard on impossibly rocky soils.

Cetus is fresh with lively acidity (indebted to the sea breezes) and a firm, compact structure (indebted to the soils) that is drinking very nicely now, but will benefit from another decade in bottle to gain in complexity. If you don’t have the patience to wait, drink it when you visit the estate and enjoy the views from the new barbecue area at the top of the vineyard.

The views continue if you drive further east. After passing Punta del Este, turn inland about 30km to reach Garzón, a charming town lost among Uruguay’s rolling hills. In the midst of this landscape is the estate of Argentine magnate Alejandro Bulgheroni, Bodegas Garzón (www.colinasdegarzon.com), a vast stretch of land that, among other almond and eucalyptus trees, includes an oil mill that processes three million kilos of olives a year. Italian wine consultant Alberto Antonini is in charge of production at this ambitious estate that currently has 200ha planted to vineyards – by far the Maldonado region’s largest – although there are plans for 500ha. The wines are very international in character – ripe-fruited Tannats with gentle tannins, as well as Albariño. Garzón’s entry-level Albariño is deliciously fresh and simple – perfect with miniaturas, little chunks of fried fish sold in every bar on the beach, just 20 minutes’ drive away.

The last and most eastern winery on our trip is Dominio Cassis (www.bodegacassis.com) – a pioneer in venturing into this exciting Atlantic coastal area. In 1999 Carlos Tomassi bought some land on the banks of Lake Rocha, about 10km from the sea, where rocky soils are bathed by Atlantic winds, and the wild and charming landscapes imbue the wines with the flavours of the Uruguayan countryside.

Domínio Cassis produces mainly reds, including a fresh, juicy Cabernet Franc that shows a real sense of place. Like other estates in Maldonado, wine production is not yet two decades old, but the charm of the scenery and warmth of the people make it well worth visiting. And when you do, raise a glass of its wines to the setting sun.

Written by Patricio Tapia

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For a memorable holiday filled with sun, sand, sea – and Tannat – head to Maldonado, Uruguay’s newest and most exciting wine region along the Atlantic Coast. Patricio Tapia reports in his Uruguayan coast travel guide.

My perfect day on the Uruguayan coast

Morning

Start with a swim. Uruguay’s Atlantic coast can be hot and humid in the summer, from December through late March, and a plunge to begin the day, perhaps at José Ignacio, is the perfect refresher. After you’ve dried off, drive inland to the quaint town of Garzón. Have a stroll and browse the art galleries or enjoy a coffee in the main square. Five minutes’ drive away is Bodegas Garzón. Don’t miss the olive oil tasting and of course try the wines, especially the Albariño.

Lunch

Stay in the town of Garzón for one of the best culinary experiences in Uruguay. The Garzón Hotel & Restaurant (pictured above) (www.restaurantegarzon.com), owned by renowned Argentine chef Francis Mallman and Manuel Mas of the Finca La Anita winery in Mendoza, offers dishes as simple as they are exciting. The octopus is wonderful; so is the lamb.

Afternoon

Take the Ruta 12 road down to the coast to Alto de la Ballena. There you can enjoy the views over a glass of its floral and fruity rosé. Afterwards, head to Punta del Este, 20 minutes’ drive away to take a walk along the waterfront overlooking the Atlantic. At sunset you’re sure to hear applause from tourists and locals alike who come to watch the sun drop into the sea. Don’t leave the sun, sea and sand of Punta del Este before having a drink, or better yet dinner, at La Bourgogne (www.labourgogne.com.uy), a famous restaurant owned by French chef Jean-Paul Bondoux, a bon vivant of the culinary world whose dining room on Avenida del Mar offers French specialties with an Uruguayan touch. The wine list is full of flavours to discover from home as well as abroad.

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For a memorable holiday filled with sun, sand, sea – and Tannat – head to Maldonado, Uruguay’s newest and most exciting wine region along the Atlantic Coast. Patricio Tapia reports in his Uruguayan coast travel guide.

Uruguayan coast: Where to stay, eat, shop and relax

HOTELS

Laguna Garzón Lodge

A floating hotel on the banks of the beautiful Laguna Garzón is a different way of seeing things. It’s windy there, so the little floating cabins rock gently on the water; falling asleep is like being back in the cradle. Sheer silence and solitude do the rest. www.lagunagarzon.com.uy

Estancia Vik José Ignacio

One of the best hotels – maybe the best – on the Uruguayan coast, the Estancia Vik José Ignacio is full of tiny details and little luxuries. Overlooking both Lake José Ignacio and the Atlantic Ocean, the hotel is perched on a small hill on a wild and solitary 1,400ha site. www.vikhotels.com

Conrad

Just steps from the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, this hotel is on Punta del Este’s waterfront. Enormous for the context of the Uruguayan coast (294 rooms), it also has a large casino and several restaurants to choose from. www.conrad.com.uy

RESTAURANTS

Parador La Huella

Right on Playa Brava beachfront in the very chic town of José Ignacio, La Huella is a mandatory stop. Set in an old wooden house across from the town’s imposing lighthouse, the food served here is simple: fresh fish, juicy meats and a wine list composed of the area’s finest. The selection of whiskies is also excellent. www.paradorlahuella.com

Medio y Medio

The town of Portezuelo may not be as famous as either Punta del Este or José Ignacio, but it’s charming and peaceful all the same. It is also home to this simple and welcoming restaurant whose menu features local land and sea cuisine. Don’t miss the grilled squid or lamb al Jerez – or the long list of jazz concerts either. A must in this area. www.medioymedio.com

Lo de Tere

Punta del Este has a very generous culinary offer, including the popular Lo de Tere. Perfect for formal dining or something more casual, this spot opposite the yacht club and just steps from the sea has a formidable menu. You can’t visit without trying its Iñaki hake or its famous rack of lamb. The wine list is excellent. www.lodetere.com

SHOPS

Grand Cru

Manantiales is a small town that has taken on a new liveliness, largely due to the number of high-end luxury apartment buildings – unthinkable for most pockets – that have been built up around it. To satisfy the demands of these new neighbours, the Grand Cru shop offers wines from around the world at reasonable prices, as well as a limited but spot-on selection of Uruguayan labels. www.grandcru.com.ar

Vinos del Mundo

On Avenida Artigas in Punta del Este, the Vinos del Mundo wine shop should not be missed. Its selection of Uruguayan wines is excellent, and the rest is a little journey through some of the world’s most famous wines. www.vinosdelmundo.com.uy

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