Narbona Winery
We have been talking in the last few weeks about high quality wine from Uruguay, so now the time to talk about the best examples of wineries has come. Today, we introduce Narbona Winery, a boutique producer from the fantastic region of Carmelo, a region that has been growing a lot in popularity, nowadays, one of the most important points in Uruguay for the fine quality wine industry.
The story of Narbona starts in 1909 when Vicente Bogliacino planted the first vines in this farm that once was the property of Juan De Narbona, an Spanish man from Aragón that settled in Carmelo in the late 1700´s and dedicated to cattle breeding and exploitation of lime, in an era in which economic prosperity and the desire to stimulate the religious life in the River Plate, promoted the construction of numerous convents.
Nowadays, where this farm was there is a boutique winery that also allocates a Wine Lodge with a restaurant, Narbona Relais & Chateau. An amazing combination of the rustic architecture of the colonial times in the country side plus the latest technology to produce high quality wines. And talking about the wines, lets get deeper into the matter…
At Narbona their vineyards in Carmelo are perfectly labored with very low yields to get the best fruit concentration for their Tannats deep colored red wines, amazing Pinot Noir Sparkling wines and a unique Gewurztraminer late harvest wine. In addition, they also experiment with other grapes (probably some of these are used for their Mistery blend). Of course, every single bunch of grapes is hand collected and after a careful selection of them in the winery, Narbona artisan made wines reach the high standards of Premium quality.
The production of the wines is in the hands of the local Oenologist Valeria Chiola, adviced as well by the company Eno Rolland from Michel Rolland and the Argentine Engineer Gabriel Celeste. Experts with vast experience in the wine making world.
Among the lines of the Narbona wines we can find the young, fresh, fruity easy drinking Punta Carmelo Tannat and a crisp and Punta Carmelo Sauvignon Blanc. In the Narbona line, there are different styles of wine: The incredibly fresh Medio y Medio Sparkling wine, the complex, elegant and fruity Narbona Tannat Rose and the sweet dessert wine, Narbona Late Harvest. And that is just to start, because if we talk about the specialty of the house, we got to speak about Narbona´s reds.
To start, we have the Narbona Luz de Luna Tannat, which won best Tannat in the Concurso Tannat al Mundo (World Tannat Awards 2011). A great example of a highly elegant, black fruit concentrated wine with incredibly subtle hints of spices due to its 5 months aging in French Oak barrels. The core of its complexity comes from the master blend that this wine is, a combination of Tannat of 13 different parcels from Narbonas different vines. Wonderful with lean meats, game dishes and hard cheeses.
Narbona Tannat Roble
A bigger, bolder Tannat is the Narbona Tannat Roble. A masterpiece from the winery that without a doubt represents perfectly the personality of the high quality Tannat from Carmelo. A classy presence of Dark and Red fruits in marmalade shape on the mouth, with chocolaty and vanilla hints coming from the 100%
of the wine aged in new French Oak barrels for 12 months, also providing a magnificent structure, a wine that will merge with your palate in a long persistence flavor like very few wines out there. Great wine for big dishes like lamb, an Argentine Steak or a traditional Chivito Uruguayo!
One of the most interesting surprises is also their Narbona Blend. A misterious composition that must have Tannat, and we also know that it has 10 months aging in oak barrels, but the well kept secret from the winemakers denies us the possibility of knowing what other grape is in this fabulous red. Also a great pairing for high protein dishes, try this with a Pasta with a long cooking red sauce with tenderloin and the experience must be superb (drooling).
Narbona Pinot Noir
And the final surprise is the delicate Narbona Pinot Noir. A result of two clones of Pinot Noir picked at different maturation cycles for more elegance and finesse. Vinified and aged separately in american and french oak barrels for 8 months revealing aromas of red fruits, vanilla, sweet spice with good balance of fruit and flavours. Bacchus knows that this wine could easily be paired with lean meats as a tenderloin or an Argentine Vacio, or even with a Pink Salmon with a spiced sauce. The magic of a well done Pinot.
Wow…At this point my desire to visit the winery has no words. I am wondering if I should go to Tigre right now and take a boat to the other side of the river and pay a visit to Narbona. One thing is certain, I am in for a wonderful time once I get there!
Keep up the good work Narbona! Hope to visit you soon!
Thanks for reading my wine loving friends. I will keep you posted with more Uruguayan Wine Blogs to come.
