Pisano-Arretxea Grand Reserve 2004, Progreso
13th September 2007
Uruguayans often describe their country as the Switzerland of South America, presumably meaning it is stabler and more prosperous than its neighbours. That’s fair enough, I suppose, though the point grows tiresome with repetition. A Uruguayan lady of my acquaintance used to say it almost every time I ran into her. One day she caught me in a sardonic mood, and I asked her why no one ever called Switzerland the Uruguay of Europe. She never said anything about Switzerland to me again. In fact she never said anything at all.
If only she had mentioned her country’s wine. I came across some recently and was rather impressed. The local grape is called Tannat, and they make big, bold reds with it. As the name suggests, it is severely tannic, so many of the most successful Uruguayan wines are made from a combination of Tannat and other varieties.
This one is a mixture of Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and it spends a year in barrique. They do not filter it, so you would be unwise to glug it down immediately after purchase. Give it a few days to settle, then decant it at least an hour before drinking.
The house gets its name from a combination of Italian and Basque ancestry, of which they are fiercely proud. Indeed they are proud of all aspects of themselves. Their leaflet for this wine is a delightfully immodest document, as robust and uncompromising as the wine itself. I feel I should quote it alongside my own impressions.
“COLOUR: bright and intense purple red.”
No argument there.
“AROMA: deep, complex and elegant. Exquisite and well defined in the spices, coffee, tobacco, and notes of toasted oak, in a perfect blend.”
I detected earth, my wife mushrooms. Tobacco? Spices? Not really.
“FLAVOUR: Superb. Enormously deep and complex. Aristocratic and of strong tannic race …”
See what I mean? Actually the wine is pretty good, and I agree about its depth. But it is not especially complex. As for “aristocratic”, all I can say is that I come from a kingdom and Uruguay is a republic, so our views are bound to differ.
“…Delicious structure and acidity of notable life. Dense, powerful, with layers of plum and very ripe black cherry, which balances with the slight acidity of wild blackberry and the smoky note of toasted oak.”
I am with them on the structure, the acidity and the black cherry. The plum, blackberry and smoke are, ahem, more elusive.
Some food recommendations follow:
“A wonderful companion for hare, partridge and wild duck …”
Not unreasonable.
“… Game pieces like wild boar, deer, and venison …”
Quite so. But -
“… Roasted wild mushrooms. Entrecot or full lamb ribs roasted Creole style on an open fire of wild woods …”
My word.
“ … Lamb leg grilled on the oven. Sirloin steak with black pepper. Stuffed pasta cooked on the oven with important sauces …”
Yes, we get the point. Now -
“ … Raw ham and air dried spicy sausages …”
I think that will be -
“ … Sheep and goat cheeses. Also strong mature and sharp cheeses of the Parmigiano-Reggiano type.”
Thank you very MUCH.
Pisano-Arretxea Grand Reserve 2004 is not a bad way to spend $25, if you live in the US. It does not seem to be available in the UK.
