The UnCorker

Weird Wine of the Week- 2005 Vinedo de los Vientos ‘Angel’s Cuvée’ Ripasso de Tannat

March 11, 2009 | In WINE REVIEWS | 1 Comment

OK- There’s nothing intriniscally weird about Tannat, the country of Uruguay, or ripasso wines- put those three together, and you have the unusual 2005 Vinedo de los Vientos ‘Angel’s Cuvee’ Ripasso de Tannat. Uruguay isn’t your average wine-lover’s go to country, but it is a country on the move(viticulturally speaking). The 4th largest wine producer in south America, the people of Uruguay consume on average 32 liters of wine per year- a significant amount- with almost half the population living in and around the capital of Montevideo, the demand is high, so until recently, they hardly exported a drop. Wine has been produced in Uruguay for 150 years, from vines brought over by immigrants from from Italy and Spain’s Basque country, but the focus has been on quantity at the expense of quality. At least until the last decade when quality wines from Argentina and Chile started flooding  markets in North and South America- Uruguay has been rushing to catch up- and it seems as though tannat will be their signature grape.

Originally from the Southwest of France, famed in Madiran, Tannat plantings have decreased there, but have had success in South America, and with its ‘Angel’s Cuvee’ moniker, this is a wine clearly made for the export market. Tannat is a tannic black grape capable of making age-worthy wines of real character. The tradition of making wines in a ripasso style is traditionally Northern Italian; refermenting young wines on the unpressed skins from Amarone wines(of course, not in this case)- this process adds body and character to wine, though all to often it adds bitter tannin left in the skins from the free run wine made previously, or is used simply to try to cover up flawed or mediocore wines. In this case though we suspect, due to the quality and expense of this bottling, that like many quality minded producers in the Veneto, this wine isn’t a traditional ripasso; rather we suspect that the dried skins were replaced by half- dry whole grapes, adding depth and body, without adding tannin or astringincy-

The 2005 Vinedo de los Vientos ‘Angel’s Cuvee’ Ripasso de Tannat is unfined and unfiltered, and theres a lot of fruit here, cooked plums, raisins, also some rhubarb and some dark cassis liquer. Woodsy, with notes of truffles and black pepper, loads of forest floor and something minty and anise provides background. 18 months in barrel tames the tannins somewhat, and lends a bit of smooth vanilla. Suprisingly, only 13% abv- still think big rich dishes or aged cheese for this guy. Around $45-