The Tasting | Wines of URUGUAY | Aubrey Stout

1.  Garzon Albarino Reserva - Uruguay is not the first country that comes to mind when the South American wine industry is mentioned. ​

​A little arrowhead shaped country wedged between Argentina to the north and west, and Brazil to the north and east, it doesn't have Argentina's world-famous rivers of Malbec, or further west, Chile's Cabernet and Carmenere.  Even Brazil, known more around the world for its beaches and jungles than its wine, with a climate too hot for wine in much of the country, still comes in third place for overall production.  Most of its grapes are for cheap table wine, however, while Uruguay, though tiny, has already established a reputation for producing wines of quality and finesse.  Uruguay's wine industry got its start in 1870, when a Basque immigrant named Don Pascual Harriague brought the Tannat grape with him to his new country (don't you wish we travelled with vine shoots when we went to far-off lands?)  It would prove a fortuitious choice.  150 years later, and Tannat is Uruguay's top wine, its robust, full flavors perfect for pairing with Uruguay's other main product, beef.  Albariño came later, brought in 1954 by immigrants from A Coruña, in the Galician region of Spain.  Quickly it claimed its place as Uruguay's top white grape.  This example from Bodega Garzon, a stunning and sleek winery perched on the hills of Maldonado, close to the South Atlantic ocean, is a great introduction.  It's a ripe, fruit-forward version of Albariño, less saline than its Galician ancestor.  There is acidity and minerality to balance the ripe fleshy fruit, with hints of freshly grated lemon and lime zest.  Serve it with ceviche, tuna confit salad with fresh spring greens, or grilled fish with mango salsa.  

2.  Garzon Tannat Reserva - Tannat, the star grape of Uruguay, has also found its own identity in the soils of this tiny South American country.  Its French ancestor can be found in Madiran, in southwest France, on the border of the mountainous Basque region.  There it makes a garnet colored wine with grip and intensity, but often medium bodied.  In Uruguay it is typically quite dark and bold, with plenty of tannic structure.  Many vineyards distinguish between old vines, which are cuttings from the original European rootstock, and newer vines.  Often the old vine fruit produces slightly more complex wines with more acidity, while the newer vines produce fruitier, more tannic wine.  Garzon's Tannat Reserva has dark, plummy fruit, with vanilla, spice, and ripe tannins.  This is the perfect wine to accompany burgers, grilled steak, or lamb skewers.  If you're not a meat eater, try it with earthy vegetarian food, or grilled mushrooms crusted with garlic and mint, in the traditional Uruguayan treatment for lamb.  

​Aubrey Stout (Aubrey is a talented wine specialist at Imbibe Chattanooga).