Winemaker Notes
With a deep red color, the Marselan Reserva has a powerful aroma combining red fruit, mineral, mint and eucalyptus notes. It has a soft palate with an intense and long finish. This wine has a great personality and displays a strong expression of ripe red fruits with mineral notes.
It pairs very well with roasted meat with Provençal-style vegetables or pork casseroles with chorizo, beans and potatoes. Strong cheeses of intense aromas stand out when combined with this Marselan Reserva.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Blackberries and raspberries layered with Mediterranean herbs and a hint of graphite. The palate is round and ample, showing generous dark fruit complemented by subtle cedar notes. Straightforward, balanced and approachable.
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Vinous
The 2023 Marselán Reserva comes from Maldonado, Uruguay. With pristine blackberry, violet and a touch of black tea, it is lightly sanguine and expressive. Smooth on the palate, with gentle grip and a frank, fruit-forward profile, this is an easygoing red. The 2023 is a crowd-pleaser.
Beyond the usual suspects, there are hundreds of red grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines, while others are better suited for use as blending grapes. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles, offering much to be discovered by the curious wine lover. In particular, Portugal and Italy are known for having a multitude of unique varieties but they can really be found in any region.
Considered one of the most environmentally sustainable countries in the world, Uruguay is also the fourth largest wine producing country in South America. But in contrast to its neighbors (Chile, Argentina and even Brazil) Uruguay keeps more in step with its European progenitors where land small holdings are most common. Most Uruguayan farms are tiny (averaging only about five hectares) and family-run, many dating back multiple generations. At this size, growers either make small amounts of wine for local consumption or sell grapes to a nearby winery. In all of Uruguay there are close to 3,500 growers but fewer than 300 wineries.
On these small plots of land, manual tending and harvesting, as well as low yields are favored; this small agricultural country has never had a need for large-scale chemical fertilizers or insecticides. Their thriving meat industry also follows the same standards: hormones have been banned since 1968 and today all Uruguayan beef is organic and grass-fed.
Uruguay’s best vineyards are on the Atlantic coast, in Canelones and Maldonado (where cooling breezes lessen humidity) or found hugging its border with Argentina. With a climate similar to Bordeaux and soils clay-rich and calcareous, Uruguay is perfect for Tannat, a thick-skinned, red variety native to Southwest, France. A great Tannat from Uruguay will have no lack of rich red and black fruit, lots of sweet spice and a hefty structure. Sometimes winemakers blend Merlot or Pinot noir with Tannat to soften up its rough edges.
The best Uruguayan whites include Sauvignon blanc and Albarino.