Bodega Garzon Reserva Tannat, Maldonado, Uruguay 2023

Description

Wine Spectator 91
WS Top 10 Values 2025 Rank #6
Like many good vineyard stories, the discovery of Bodega Garzón was an accident. In 2006, Argentinian oil and gas billionaire Alejandro Bulgheroni purchased land in Uruguay, 11 miles from the Atlantic coast, with plans for a wind farm. His advisers, however, suggested vineyards. Tuscan consulting winemaker Alberto Antonini told Bulgheroni there was potential to do something on a trial scale. Garzón’s general manager, Christian Wylie, jests that Garzón is “very much an experiment on a massive scale!” Today, 20 grape varieties grow across the 600-plus acres, but the star in the vineyard—and in Uruguay as a whole—is Tannat. The maritime climate helps develop deep flavors while yielding a more approachable style of the grape, with balanced tannins. Native Uruguayan winemaker Germán Bruzzone accentuates the terroir through a light touch in the cellar, fermenting in concrete to preserve aromatics and freshness, then aging for six to 12 months in French oak casks. 39,167 cases made, 11,100 cases imported.

James Suckling 91
"Dark cherries, fresh blackberries, dried meat, minerals and some savory spices. This is a medium-to full-bodied, tight and chewy red with nice austerity to remind you that this is a tannat. Sinewy, very tight and robust, but not drying in the finish. Best after 2023."