After adding another 600 hectare vineyard property to the Sabelli-Frisch empire’s expansion into South America (this will be a nice addition to the newly acquired 1200 acres adjacent to To Kalon, paid for by cash from the BD windfall), I promptly ordered the gaucho to bring me the finest wines from the bodega’s cellar for me to sample - a quick lick of the lash helped him see the urgency of the need!
Kidding.
I’m here for my day job. But unbeknownst to me, they’d booked a tasting menu and flights at the vineyards of the Bodega Bouza, about an hour outside of Montevideo. Who am I to say no to that??
But slow your roll, let’s start a few days before. For first night’s dinner: 2016 Familia Deicas Preludio - some sort of Merlot, Tannat blend. Rather nice actually, soft tannins, not too pondering.
Then on second day, the client had heard about Tannat being the local grape, so they were fixated on that. Nothing else would do. A 2018 Pizzorno Riserva promptly showed up at table at the very nice restaurant La Otra in Montevideo. Kinda typical Tannat in that it has that slightly bitter tannin note, but was otherwise pretty well integrated, although on the larger side. Oak, of course.
A quick note on the Bife the Lomo that was ordered for the table - that very first bite of that, when it was just off the grill and oozing still, was perhaps the best single bite of meat I’ve had. Very impressive. I love how they have some sort of government decree here for restaurants admonishing them if they over-salt, so the meats are always quite lightly salted and it really lets the flavors speak. And I finally got a heavenly Flan. Why don’t more westerners see the greatness in Flan? Every time I order one all the Americans and Canadians go “ewwww”. They just don’t know what they’re missing…
On to Bodega Bouza (you can see short Insta video of it at bottom I shot just as I arrived). A tasting menu at their excellent winery restaurant with 4 flights - one Chardonnay, two blends and one Tannat:
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The Chardonnay everyone liked a lot, perhaps with me being the one least enamored with it. 40% new oak and kind of a California style. Not bad, just not my jam.
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Next was a 2016 Tempranillo Tannat blend. Pretty light in tone, but somehow a little bit disjointed or angular.
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After that a 2019 Tempranillo, Merlot, Tannat blend. Everyone liked this. It had a light and elegant feel to it, with some good acid. If I recall correctly, the Merlot was in French Oak, the Tempranillo in American Oak and Tannat in neutral.
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Finally, and presented as their masterpiece, their 100% Tannat, the 2018 Bouza Tannat B2. 100% new American Oak, which got me rather excited to try it, because I mainly use AO myself. On the nose, distinct American Oak notes and, rarely for me, I picked up that dill note people talk about. Slight coconut whiff, of course, but it was in the background. On the palate; this is a full bodied wine for sure at 15.5%. But it was elegant, I had to say. Not at all my jam on paper, but somehow it kind of works. A feminine mouthfeel despite its heft. In many ways it really reminded me of my own 2018 Tinta Cao, but with more of an AO feel. It has that tell-tale Tannat bitter tannin note, that my Tinta also shares. The table was split on if they preferred this wine over the previous, with this one winning narrowly.
Food at Bodega Bouza was amazing, I have to say. The lamb chops were out of control and some of the best I’ve ever had. I haven’t been on enough tastings in the world, but it feels like having a tasting and flight in conjunction with a meal in a restaurant owned and run at winery, is a really good combo and a bit of novel concept. More people should do that - it really works. The two would feed each other - wine would drive the food tasting, and food would drive the wine tasting. Very cool.
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