Gimenez Mendez Alta Reserva Tannat

Wine Club Selection - October 2021

Gimenez Mendez started in 1991 as a collaboration between husband Luis Alberto Gimenez and wife Maria Mendez, who wanted to promote their local wines abroad. Thirty years later, Maria continues to work with their son Mauro Gimenez Mendez to produce exceptional bottles in the heart of Uruguay’s wine country.

Uruguay isn’t the most famous country for winemaking, even within South America, but it’s on a lot of wine-lovers’ radars thanks to Tannat.  Most of the country’s winemaking happens in the Canelones region, which incidentally grows more Tannat than anywhere else on the planet. The climate in Canelones is mild and rainy, which is a major reason why Tannat (which tolerates rainfall) thrives there more consistently than Cabernet Sauvignon and other more popular grapes.

“This is a polished and structured Tannat that is slightly more crowdpleasing than other wines made from this brooding, tannic grape thanks to the winemaker’s use of American oak. Dark fruit aromas lead into flavors of black cherry, blackberry, dark chocolate, and coconut with hints of leather on the long, powerful finish. 90 Points, Tim Atkin