Uruguay's wine industry is present in 15 out of the 19 departments in the country and is home to over 9,000 hectares of mainly family-owned vineyards. It seems to have adopted Tannat as its iconic grape, but also produces a wide variety of reds and whites that benefit from the granite, sandy loam soils (called 'balasto') and the crucial influence of the balmy breezes and maritime climate of the Atlantic Ocean (in the Punta del Este region).
At the helm as one of the ambassadors of premium Uruguayan wine is the stunning Bodega Garzon – the first LEEDS-certified (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) winery outside of the United States. Founded in 1999 by Alejandro and Bettina Bulgheroni - a renowned agro-industrial entrepreneur - the winery team also includes enologist Alberto Antonini (of Frescobaldi and Antinori fame), winemaker German Bruzzone and agronomist Eduardo Felix.
Garzon's complex grid of vineyards includes over 1,000 different plots which provide the peculiar terroirs that give the individual wines such a singular elegance and character. Grapes are hand- harvested into small bins and then hand-sorted and sent through an optical laser sorting machine to ensure that only the very best fruit reaches your bottle. Fermentation occurs in concrete vats and "tulips" and are aged in untoasted French oak. Yes, untoasted! These "live" containers maintain the natural and individual integrity of the wines. The sustainably farmed grapes undergo minimal handling and enjoy the benefits of fermenting with their native yeasts – all the better to extract the unique qualities of each plot's varietal. You recall those afore-mentioned concrete "tulips"? They are constructed in such a way that the curvature at the bottom allows the grapes to be suspended in a sort of "perpetual motion" element, thus eliminating the need for punch-downs or pump-overs. These are the same concrete tanks that are used by Petrus in Bordeaux. Yet another gesture towards their "hands-off" approach to winemaking and an incredible investment destined to keep their quality constantly trending upward.
Huh? "What the heck is a Marselan?" you may be asking. Well, it's a hybrid from France - its parental units are Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. It is most common to the Languedoc area of France (where it was created by Paul Truel in 1961), but has found a comfortable niche in Uruguay. Originally planted to be a blending grape for the Tannat and Petit Verdot grown here, after tasting a barrel it was decided to bottle it separately. And here it is – the first vintage to be released and thank goodness for that call! This is a wizardry in a bottle and beckons with provocative aromas of raspberry drenched in blueberry coulis. It is dark and intense with strong expressions of power and grace; pools of pervasive red fruit, berries and black mineral all influence its lingering and persistent finish. Such a superb wine for all sorts of grill and braised meats and stews. 800 cases produced.
At the helm as one of the ambassadors of premium Uruguayan wine is the stunning Bodega Garzon – the first LEEDS-certified (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) winery outside of the United States. Founded in 1999 by Alejandro and Bettina Bulgheroni - a renowned agro-industrial entrepreneur - the winery team also includes enologist Alberto Antonini (of Frescobaldi and Antinori fame), winemaker German Bruzzone and agronomist Eduardo Felix.
Garzon's complex grid of vineyards includes over 1,000 different plots which provide the peculiar terroirs that give the individual wines such a singular elegance and character. Grapes are hand- harvested into small bins and then hand-sorted and sent through an optical laser sorting machine to ensure that only the very best fruit reaches your bottle. Fermentation occurs in concrete vats and "tulips" and are aged in untoasted French oak. Yes, untoasted! These "live" containers maintain the natural and individual integrity of the wines. The sustainably farmed grapes undergo minimal handling and enjoy the benefits of fermenting with their native yeasts – all the better to extract the unique qualities of each plot's varietal. You recall those afore-mentioned concrete "tulips"? They are constructed in such a way that the curvature at the bottom allows the grapes to be suspended in a sort of "perpetual motion" element, thus eliminating the need for punch-downs or pump-overs. These are the same concrete tanks that are used by Petrus in Bordeaux. Yet another gesture towards their "hands-off" approach to winemaking and an incredible investment destined to keep their quality constantly trending upward.
Huh? "What the heck is a Marselan?" you may be asking. Well, it's a hybrid from France - its parental units are Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. It is most common to the Languedoc area of France (where it was created by Paul Truel in 1961), but has found a comfortable niche in Uruguay. Originally planted to be a blending grape for the Tannat and Petit Verdot grown here, after tasting a barrel it was decided to bottle it separately. And here it is – the first vintage to be released and thank goodness for that call! This is a wizardry in a bottle and beckons with provocative aromas of raspberry drenched in blueberry coulis. It is dark and intense with strong expressions of power and grace; pools of pervasive red fruit, berries and black mineral all influence its lingering and persistent finish. Such a superb wine for all sorts of grill and braised meats and stews. 800 cases produced.
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