Uruguay Uncovered

Since the vine was first planted in Uruguay by Basque immigrants in the 1870’s, the wine industry in Uruguay has made massive progress. Many of the estates are now focusing on Reservas and Gran Reservas and are making impressive wines which points to an exciting future for Uruguayan wine.
Most of the vineyards are centred in the cooler south around Montevideo which is home to many of Uruguay’s most important estates, such as the Pisano family who first started planting vines in 1914 and now export top quality wines to a number of international markets. Another of the top Uruguayan producers is Juanico whose vineyards are in neighbouring Canalones where the ocean moderates temperatures and encourages a prolonged growing season.
The tannat grape, which originated from the South of France, is the most widely planted here and is responsible for some of the country’s most distinctive and impressive wines, typically with deep colour, firm structure and rich black berry fruits. However other grape varieties such as Merlot, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grown successfully in Uruguay and make some very good wines indeed.
Jeffrey Benson who leads tonight’s tasting has visited many of the vineyards and has long been a champion of Uruguayan wines. Some years ago he convinced the organiser of their quality which resulted in them buying a selection to cellar for a tasting. Together they have put together an interesting selection of some of the better wines from Uruguay this evening.
The wines tonight have been deliberately chosen to reflect the ageing potential of Uruguayan wines and the older ones will not be available on the market now as they were bought a couple of years ago. Because of this, the event can only be a one bottle tasting. Moreover prices have now risen but because the wines were bought some time ago, we are able to offer the event at this very reasonable cost.
We will taste the following ten wines:
2009 De Lucca Sauvignon Blanc
2009 De Lucca Marsanne Reserve
2008 Bodegones Viognier Reserve
2008 Casa Filgueira Tannat Classic
2009 De Lucca Syrah Reserve
2007 Marichal Reserve Collection Pinot Noir/Tannat
2007 Casa Filguera Tannat Reserve
2006 De Lucca Rio Colorado Reserve
2006 Juanico Benteveo Merlot Reserva
2003 Vina Progresso Reserve Pinot Noir, Les Domaines Boisset / Familia Pisano (Pascal Marchand/Gustavo Pisano)
Carole Goldberg will provide suitable food to accompany the wines and Jeffrey has challenged her to produce a Uruguayan platter! However whilst a complete Uruguayan platter may prove too difficult, she will attempt to produce a couple of Uruguayan specialities!