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Your online guide and insider’s tips to Chile and Argentina’s wine regions, wineries and wines

Uruguayan Tannat wines for Tannat Day: Celebrating 14th April

by Amanda Barnes April 10, 2022

I’ve long been a fan of Uruguayan Tannat, and the annual Tannat Day on 14th April is a great excuse to raise a glass. Tannat is Uruguay’s champion grape variety, accounting for about a quarter of all the vineyard plantings at over 1,600 hectares, and Uruguay has more Tannat planted than any other wine country in the world.

Uruguay began celebrating Tannat Day on 14th April in order to mark the date that its first true Tannat champion, Pascual Harriague, passed away in 1894. Harriague started planting Tannat in Uruguay back in the 1870s and gained some international praise for the wines after taking them to wine shows in Europe. His wines were so well known in Uruguay, that the variety Tannat was actually called Harriague for many years (and some producers still call Tannat Harriague!)

On a recent trip in Uruguay, I discovered lots of new delicious Tannat wines while visiting wineries and winemakers. So here are some new Tannat wines to celebrate Tannat Day with – salud!

New Tannat wines to celebrate Tannat Day

Nakkal, Suelto Tannat 2021

Coming from the small natural wine project of Nakkal, this is a vibrant and fresh Tannat. Nicolás Monforte, Santiago Degasperi and Bruno Bresesti only started their Nakkal label a couple of years ago but they’ve really carved out their own style, and Suelto is the epitome of that: juicy, fresh and with lots of energy. A Tannat to drink chilled at lunch.

Pablo Fallabrino, Anarkia 2020

Pablo Fallabrino was the first winemaker in Uruguay to really start pushing for no added sulphite Tannat wines in 2016. I think 2020 is his best vintage yet of this no-added-sulphite Tannat, Anarkia. It has notes of black fruits and pepper with a really lively finish. Pulsating, vibrant stuff.

De Lucca, Tano Tannat Natural 2020

It took Agustina some time to convince her father, known as Tano, to make a ‘natural Tannat’ with no added sulphites or oak, but he took to it like a duck to water. This is a great wine and debut for the new label: fresh black fruit with a spicy spine of tannin and juicy finish. A new face for De Lucca‘s wine portfolio.

Catamayor, Single Barrel No 8

Coming from the excellent 2018 vintage, this is a single barrel selection from Catamayor’s Tannat coming from the schist soils of San José. This is a great wine: lovely bright fruit expression with fine tannins. Lots of vibrancy here but also with the added structure of some oak ageing. This is good now but will also cellar well.

April 10, 2022 0 comment

almaule wines from Maule made from Pais grapes from old vines

Chile Features Wine Maule

Almaule – giving soul to País wines from Maule

by Amanda Barnes April 3, 2022

written by Amanda Barnes

A new association of producers is trying to put Maule’s País wines back on the map through a joint initiative to make juicy, fresh red wines. Almaule, standing for alma (soul) and Maule, was founded by six wineries to make approachable País wines under the same collective label, and help bring it back as the local beverage of choice.

Bouchon Family Wines, Erasmo, Gillmore, Cooperativa Loncomilla, Garage Wine Co and Las Veletas are the six founding wineries of the Almaule movement. Although each winery makes their Almaule wine in their own style, each wine has to follow a certain set of requirements:

Grapes all come old bush vines (30+ years)
The wine is at least 90% País
The wine is focused on being fresh, light, dry and clean
The wine has a maximum 12.5% ABV and is dry (less than 5 g/l RS)

The wines also have to be affordable (less than US$15) so that they can be enjoyed by everyone as an everyday wine.

The brand ‘Almaule’ also has to be dominant on the label with the individual producer cited below. This is similar to the requirements for Vigno.

Find out more about Almaule on their website: http://almaule.cl/

April 3, 2022 0 comment

Wine Foodie

Celebrating Vermouth Day with the best vermouths in South America

by Amanda Barnes March 21, 2022

written by Amanda Barnes

In South America there is a loyal base of bitters drinkers — whether it is vermouth, Campari or Fernet. Due to the enormous influx of Italian immigrants in the 19th century, these drinks have always found a place on the dinner table and in local bars. As the world celebrates its very first Vermouth Day this 21st March, I thought it would be fun to recommend some of the best vermouths in South America. There’s been a boom in vermouth production recently with some excellent craft vermouths coming to the fore, often made by local winemakers.

What is vermouth made of?

Vermouth is made from wine which is fortified with brandy (to give it a punchy 16-19% ABV) and it is flavoured with different botanicals. To be vermouth, it has to include at least one wormwood or artemisia as a botanical but it can also include any other combination of fruits, herbs, flowers and barks. What makes the trend particularly exciting for wine geeks is that these craft vermouths include local wine and grape varieties, with locally sourced and foraged botanicals. It’s an interesting dive into the terroirs of South America’s wine regions.

The best vermouths to try from South America

La Fuerza vermouth from Argentina

This trio of Andean vermouths (white, red and pink) is made with wine and botanicals from Mendoza. The guys behind La Fuerza are certainly at the head of Argentina’s vermouth revival and helping bring it back to the tables of restaurants and bars around the country. Julián Díaz, Agustín Camps, Sebastián Zuccardi and Martín Auzmendi are all involved in the world of wine and food, and came together to make good vermouth out of a desire to drink it themselves.

The wine (Malbec and Torrontés are the bases) is all made under the eye of Sebastian Zuccardi, one of Argentina’s top winemakers, in his Santa Julia winery. The botanicals are all sourced from the Andes, with 30 going into the blend.

March 21, 2022 0 comment

Guide to wineries in Argentina. Rodrigo Serrano winemaker at Domaine Bousquet organic wines in Mendoza

Uco Valley Mendoza Wine

Get to know your winemaker: Rodrigo Serrano

by Amanda Barnes March 15, 2022

written by Amanda Barnes

Rodrigo Serrano is the lead winemaker and operations manager at Domaine Bousquet. His curiosity about chemistry, as he saw his parents work at a pharmacy growing up, led him to choose his career in enology.

While his main objective is to continue making elegant, organic and high-altitude wines, he also enjoys challenges and innovation, which is why he manages to surprise consumers every year with new varietals, styles of wine, and winemaking techniques.

Find out more about Domaine Bousquet

What made you fall in love with wine?

Many things. I fell in love with wine at my first job, in Terrazas de los Andes, one of the most beautiful wineries in Mendoza. I’ve always been very keen on the winemaking process and on my first few days on the job, I realized that the wine world was where I wanted to be. Also, being able to add my personal touch to each wine is marvelous. As is sharing wine with consumers and seeing how they appreciate and want to learn more about what’s behind each bottle.

March 15, 2022 0 comment

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