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.
