Twenty years ago very few people would have thought that high quality wines would come from other countries in South America that weren’t Argentina or Chile. Gladly for us, the wine lovers, the territory has expanded and new delicious wines with brand new styles are appearing every year. One of the most interesting surprises without a doubt, is Uruguay with more and more fine quality wines as the time goes by, that is why now we open an all new Uruguayan Wine Online Store here at Anuva.
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“Tannat raisin” by Pancrat – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tannat_raisin.jpg#/media/File:Tannat_raisin.jpg
And if we talk about Uruguayan wine we got to speak about the flagship red grape of this country: The Tannat. A grape that gets its name from the word Tannin, this is because the natural chemical composition of this grape is full of this natural antioxidants that also provides richness to the body of the wines: the tannins are concentrated in the skins and the seeds of the grapes, Tannat has 5 seeds in contrast with the common amount of 2 or 3 seeds in other varieties. That is why the high quality Tannat is known for being an intense, full bodied though fruit concentrated and elegant wine.
Follow me through this post to know a bit more about this unique grape and start to discover the marvelous world of the Uruguayan wine. Lets start form the very beginning…
Tannat has its origin in the southern region of France called Madiran, a region populated by the Basque French people. During the 19th century the European immigration to Uruguay brought people from all over the old continent to settle in this country, and the Basque French colonizers that decided to stay in the northeast in the late 1800´s brought in new grapes that helped develop the wine industry at a bigger scale, and of course they brought the Tannat from Madiran, a grape that adapted perfectly to the climate and soil conditions of this territory.
Since then, the wine industry in this country has been growing significantly, and although Uruguay is a small country when it comes to size and wine production compared to the productivity of the main wine making nations, is definitely big when it comes to quality. Tannat is the perfect example of this.
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Tannat Leaves «Tannat feuille» de Pancrat – Trabajo propio. Disponible bajo la licencia CC BY-SA 3.0 vía Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tannat_feuille.jpg#/media/File:Tannat_feuille.jpg
Tannat is a very distinctive wine, with an astounding personality given by the incredible fruit concentration that this grape provides and the tannic sensation that makes the wine bolder and with a large persistence in the mouth. A style of wine that is perfect to accompany with high protein foods, such as intense red meats like the traditional Chivito Uruguayo (Uruguayan baby goat), lamb or a grilled Argentine Bife de Chorizo. Lovely for mature cheeses or creamier ones like a camembert or a brie. If it comes to pasta, go for dense red sauces with spices, but not spicy hot. Hot spicy food does not go along well with the tannins, it makes the wines taste tart, really bitter (be careful, you can ruin your Tannat).
When it comes to health benefits, Tannat being a really tannic wine, and tannins being natural anti oxidants help in the prevention of cardio vascular diseases. There are several studies about the health properties of wine, and several experts agree that the Tannat is one of the main wines to help with blood pressure. One glass of red wine a day will make you live longer, if that wine is Tannat you will live even more! (And happier for sure :)).
So tasty, unique and interesting is this wine that is accurate to say that nowadays, is quite difficult to find wineries in Uruguay that do not work with Tannat. Such as difficult as to find wineries in Argentina that do not work with Malbec, or Chilean wineries that do not have a Carmenere among their labels. And as the top notch wine industry is becoming more and more popular in Uruguay nowadays, therefore is a bit easier (just a bit) to find great high quality examples of Tannats out there. Gladly we started working with wineries that have vast experience with Tannat:
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The Irurtia family today
Familia Irurtia: A family owned winery managed by the fourth generation of the Irurtia clan. More than 100 years in the wine world make them one of the most experienced families in the country. The winery is located in Carmelo, Department of Colonia, at the KM 0 of the River Plate, right in the union of the Uruguay and Paraná rivers where a perfect warm microclimate lets the vines grow perfectly for the premium lines of the KM 0 wines from Familia Irurtia. If you want to understand how great is a Tannat from Carmelo just try the KM 0 Rio de la Plata Tannat Gran Reserva.
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Narbona Wine Lodge
Narbona: Narbona is a Winery and Wine Lodge in Carmelo, 80 kms away from Colonia. They are known for their high quality wines of distinguished exclusivity. With 15 hectares of Tannat they produce marvelous examples of wines with an elegant intensity, bold and structured, aged in new French oak. To try a delicate oaky Tannat go for Narbona Tannat Roble.
Bodega Carrau: The Carrau family has been established since 1930 in Uruguay, but their history with wines started more than 260 years ago in Catalunya, Spain. All the experience of 10 generations of wine producers now is applied in the vineyards and winery located in Cerro Chapeu, Rivera. Of course, they pay tribute to the emblematic grape of the country, and one of the best examples would be the classic Castel Pujol Tannat Reserva.
Image may be NSFW.
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In our next post, we will go along the different regions of the Uruguayan wine country to find that Tannat is not alone and that Uruguay has a lot to offer when it comes to premium wine.
Follow us to the fantastic land of the Uruguayan Wine!
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