A Tannat from Uruguay. Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is earthy with boysenberries and some baking spice. On the palate, black cherry fruit with some cigar tobacco notes. Medium tannins. Moderate finish. This is an easy drinking wine that is more accessible than many Tannat wines. It would work well with pasta with a meat sauce. Drink over the next three to five years.
This is 100% Tannat. Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is great with cherries, dust, chocolate, spice and a hint of toasted oak. Medium tannins. Medium to full bodied. On the palate, plums and black raspberries. Moderate acidity. This is very tasty. Nice finish. Drinking well now and should continue for another twelve to fifteen years. Nice on its own but better with food. This would work well with Lamb Chops. An excellent value!
Uruguay’s flagship red wine is, and always has been, Tannat. It grows well there. Tannat, however, is not the friendliest of grape owing to its heavier tannic structure. For this iteration, it’s 100% Tannat and it offers blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, with back notes of wild cherry, plum and lingonberry. There is very little oak influence – just nine months in barrel - and very strong tannins, so this wine definitely needs some air time, and food. Tannat is not a cocktail wine and it needs to be paired with food, most typically in Uruguay it’s beef.
It’s not easy to find an approachable Tannat, one that drinks well right out of the bottle. One of the reasons is that the Tannat grape has more, and larger, seeds than other grapes therefore the tannins are more aggressive. Tame that and you’ve got it nailed. Uruguay is a country pushing Tannat to the world and with great results. This 2020 is a lively robust wine that will change your mind about this misunderstood grape.
At a recent tasting of Uruguayan wines, this seemed to be the crowds choice for best wine. Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright. The nose has raspberries, plums and milk chocolate. Medium to firm tannins. Soft texture. On the palate, black cherries and plums. Deep. The finish is long with lots of fruit and tannins. This is drinking well now but should improve. Drink over the next ten to fifteen years. Nice on its own, this will work better with food. Pot Roast would work well.
In a recent tasting of ten Tannat wines, this finished first. Pretty impressive for a wine that can be found under $15. Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has black cherries, black licorice, a hint of sour cherries and slight spice. Medium to full bodied. Light tannins. For such a young Tannat, this was quite accessible. On the palate, black cherry fruit with just a bit of bell pepper. Nice finish. This probably should be consumed over the next three to five years. It will work well with roasted chicken or even game.
