Bodega Garzón Balasto, `Balasto`

Bodega Garzón is a family-owned winery in Maldonado, on the Atlantic coast in southern Uruguay. For the last 10 years, they have pioneered quality viticulture in this area, becoming the standard-bearer for premium Uruguayan wines. In November 2018, Wine Enthusiast recognised this pioneering status with the ‘New World Winery of the Year’ award.

In 2007, owner Alejandro Bulgheroni invited consultant winemaker Alberto Antonini to visit his 700-hectare olive farm between the small town of Garzón and the beach. With stunning views, rolling hills and olive trees, Alberto was taken aback by its beauty, likening it to his native Tuscany. After properly analysing the soil and conditions, it became clear that this site had huge potential to produce premium wines. Originally, they planted Tannat (Uruguay’s flagship variety) and Albariño, as Alberto identified clear similarities between Galicia and Garzón regarding the cooling Atlantic breezes and well-draining granitic soils. Over the past 10 years, these rolling hills have been transformed with olive groves and vineyards and 12 grape varieties are now planted on the estate. Bodega Garzón is a patchwork quilt of 1,150 individual plots, each around 0.2 hectares in size, and carefully chosen for a specific variety according to its soil and microclimate.

Alberto has a light hand in the winery and is very careful with the use of oak. As with his other projects worldwide, he has moved away from barriques in favour of concrete fermenters and large, untoasted oak. He does this to produce pure expressions of each grape variety and place, as well as to avoid masking the character of his wines. The winery is specially designed to operate as sustainably as possible and, in 2019, made history by becoming the first winery in the world to earn LEED certification for its facilities (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Built on natural terraces, the winery uses cutting-edge technology and operates using a gravity flow system to ensure quality and energy efficiency at every stage of production.

Given the spectacular winery and stunning landscape, alongside an on-site Francis Mallmann restaurant and proximity to Punta del Este (Uruguay’s most popular resort), it is unsurprising that Bodega Garzón was ranked in the top at the IWC-sponsored World’s Best Vineyards Awards in 2021 (for the third time), as voted for by over 500 wine industry experts.

Balasto

Balasto is one of South America’s most sought-after wines. Only made in the best years, its name is derived from the type of soil found at the estate, formed of decomposed granite with excellent drainage. The blend comprises four varieties: Tannat, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Marselan. The resulting wine, which spends 20 months ageing in untoasted French oak, has excellent structure and complexity.