WINE REVIEW: 🇺🇾 Bodegones Del Sur, Uruguay

Wine: Bodegones Del Sur Region: Juanicó, Uruguay

Grape: Tannat (red) Vintage (year grapes were picked): 2014

Price: ¥2110 (£15.62) Alcohol by volume: 12.5%

Where to buy: 葡萄屋 鶴見店 (Budouya), 1-minute walk north-west from Tsurumi Station

A Word From Gino: Tannin

Tannin comes from the skin, the seeds and the stem of the grape and add to a wines structure and flavour profile. If aged in oak, this can also add to the level of tannin found in a wine. Due to production methods, tannins are far more detectable in red wines and when drinking can be felt most noticeably on the gums above the top two front teeth. It’s usually a nice fuzzy feeling however if the tannins aren’t ripe it can also be unpleasant and overly drying, a bit like eating a green banana. To avoid this, the grapes can be left to hang for longer so the skins become riper or the wines can be aged longer which also softens the tannins. Wines which are high in tannin stand up better alongside bigger dishes.

Background

Like Malbec, Tannat is also a French grape that has made its way to South America and found a new spiritual home. Tannat has become known as the ‘national grape’ of Uruguay having more plantings here than anywhere else in the world and people will often tell you it’s the one grape which produces wines with THE highest level of tannin. In Uruguay however the wines are made to have a less aggressive tannic structure and so are more approachable than in South West France where the wine is less forgiving.

The Wine

The juice has a deep ruby/garnet colour to it. I’ve had it open for a good few hours now however on the nose it still feels quite restrained – it smells full and together but it’s just not very forthcoming or expressive. There are notes of blackberry with a hint of dark chocolate.

To taste is much the same. It’s very together and compact, but nothing really shines. The tannin you can feel in your cheeks and gums is indeed a little more than the average wine, but overall it lacks any wow factor. It’s got a nice black peppery spice to it, there are some pleasant flavours of black fruit coming through, the mouthfeel is full and round given how the tannins have softened with age and it has a pleasing finish too – as the fruit slowly fades the spice and furriness remain (in a good way!). But sadly this Tannat is just missing that something extra to make me want to buy it again.

I paired mine with a lamb steak and thin-cut chips. The wine was a good match and was very capable of holding its own here, but that's to be expected of a Tannat

Overall this particular wine felt like an incredibly capable student just coasting along at school. Or in this case, a really worthwhile grape not quite showing off what it can do.

A few months ago I was able to try Garzón’s 2018 Tannat and it was altogether a bigger, more interesting and more expressive wine, although that was reflected in the price tag.

If you are able to get your hands on some serious Uruguayan Tannat at a reasonable price then I’d urge you to do so as it’s a great grape to know about. I met a man in Kyoto recently who told me it took him three days to get to there when flying from Argentina (Uruguay’s bigger, more commercial neighbour). Going by that alone, I’m guessing the logistical headache and transportation costs all the way to Japan may add a little to the price here – so maybe if a bottle is out of the question, then I’ve seen places that do it by the glass, which is good for the palate and even better for the pocket!

Garzón Tannat Reserva 2018: a little pricier but definitely worth a look. I went to Vinos Yamazaki where they were selling it by the glass! The one I went to was in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro however you can find Vinos Yamazaki dotted all around Japan.