Recently, VinePair had the opportunity to speak to Amy Racine, Beverage Director and Partner at JF Restaurants, about the stunning —and often under-represented — wines of Uruguay. Here’s what she had to offer about the terroir, grapes, production, and general outlook for this up-and-coming wine region of the world.
She says that Uruguay’s terroir is particularly well-suited to grape-growing. The region offers up three particular soil types, all of which change the profile and flavor of grapes grown in its soils. “There are sandy soils, which create softer textures, more aromatic wines, and wines with more complexity and openness,” notes Racine.
Calcareous soils, which are high in clay content, retain moisture well, making for wines that Racine says are “deeper and more concentrated.”
Also, the region’s granite soils drain quickly, producing “linear, energetic wines.”
Racine adds that the terroir is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean’s breezes, which beat against the vines all day, cooling them down. “It keeps acid, and it keeps freshness,” she says. “And there’s real rainfall there.”
The country’s four key winemaking regions are Canelones, Maldonado, Rivera, and Colonia. Racine says Canelones is one of the most historic winemaking regions, with clay-and limestone-dominant soils. “Wines have a bit more body to them here, and there is still freshness, structured wines, and crisp whites produced here,” she adds.
In Maldonado, winemaking is more trend-setting, with an eye toward a younger market. Winemaking takes a New World approach. “The terroir is more granite dominant. There are more rolling hills with ocean wind,” she says.
Rivera, which runs along the northern border with Brazil, offers sandy soils: high-quality white wines — well-balanced Chardonnay thrives in this region — and aromatic reds made from Tannat that are pretty, bright, and precise.
In Colonia, wine drinkers can expect robust, complex red wines made from Tannat, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Often viewed as Uruguay’s flagship grape, Tannat, is a characteristically tannic, thick-skinned red. It also grows in other areas of the world, like in the Madiran region of France, but in Uruguay it’s treated like a celebrity. Uruguayan winemakers are experimenting with the grape, realizing its full potential as a variety capable of producing rich and expressive wines. Modern Tannat winemaking, says Racine, can bring out examples that are bright, with soft tannins and well structured flavor profiles.
The grape is being picked earlier than in other regions of the world, and it’s being extracted more gently, too. Racine says that some winemakers are using amphorae, foudre, and concrete eggs as a neutral environment that lets the grape do the talking, rather than when it’s aged in barrels or stainless steel.
Racine explains that aging wines in concrete eggs allows for contact with the lees, as well as for oxygen flow without the additional flavors from oak contact. The same, she says, applies to foudre-ageing. “It’s a more subtle oxygen exchange. There are more vanilla tannins, but it just happens a little bit slower,” she says.
Tannat is also being used as a blending grape. “I think that’s wise,” she says. “I think Merlot fills it out and fills in the middle. It’s like the belly. And Cabernet Franc adds lift and has the potential to add savory aromatics.” In blends, Racine says, Tannat is a great contributor of structural backbone. And wine drinkers can expect to see other promising varieties used in blends like Marselan, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc, although some of them are being used for single-variety expressions.
By varying their production methods, winemakers have been able to broaden the spectrum of Tannat’s expectations. For instance, the process of Carbonic maceration, typically applied to Beaujolais Nouveaux, for example, is now being used in the production of Tannat in Uruguay. Racine says it offers “more lift, more perfume, and softer tannins” to the wines
Uruguay’s wines are worth keeping an eye on. It’s a region that is both committed to sustainability and traceability, with an astounding 100 percent vineyard geolocation and 38 percent of plantings certified under the Sustainable Grape Program. In addition, 90 percent of the country’s wineries are family-owned.
Racine says Uruguayan wines belong in any modern portfolio, yet, she notes, there’s a real opportunity for education about them because they aren’t as well known as other wines from around the globe. “I think there’s still room to market whatever grapes they want and to find a place in the industry,” she says. “Everyone is talking about the state of the wine industry right now, but Uruguay has the unique opportunity to position itself as fine and affordable.”
It’s natural to compare Uruguayan wines with the other South American wines, such as those from Chile and Argentina. However, wines from those countries, Racine says, run at a higher price point. She adds that “Uruguay is like a blank slate. It’s a really exciting place” with Tannat now enjoying an identity all its own the way Malbec has done in Argentina.
In this sense, Uruguay is now well positioned to enter a boutique, low-volume market that other wines enjoyed decades ago.
This article is sponsored by Uruguay Wine.
