Tannat — Uruguay's National Grape and Longevity Wine

Tannat is indigenous to the Basque Country, likely originating around the town of Madiran in the Hautes-Pyrénées département of southwestern France. The name derives from 'tanin' (tannin). Basque emigrants brought cuttings to Uruguay in 1870, where the variety found a second home. Uruguay declared Tannat its national grape variety in 2006. Madiran AOC was established in 1975.

Tannat is one of the world's most tannic red grape varieties, originating in the Basque Country of southwestern France (where it produces Madiran AOC wines) but finding its finest modern expression in Uruguay, where it arrived with Basque immigrants in the 1870s and became the country's defining national grape. Tannat contains the highest polyphenol content of any major red variety — studies published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition have documented its extraordinary concentration of procyanidins, which are linked to cardiovascular health (a finding that gave rise to the 'Gascon Paradox,' the observation that heart disease rates in the Gers department are among France's lowest). In Uruguay, particularly in Canelones, Juanicó, and Montevideo's coastal Melilla region, Tannat softens significantly compared to its Madiran incarnations, producing plush, approachable wines of dark fruit, violet, chocolate, and leather that can be enjoyed much younger.

FOOD PAIRING: Tannat's massive tannin and dark fruit demand equally powerful foods from the Provenance 1000 recipes: Asado (Uruguayan barbecue — the quintessential pairing), Chivito (Uruguay's national sandwich with beef, ham, eggs), Cassoulet (Madiran's traditional accompaniment in the Gascon tradition), Confit de Canard (duck confit — the wine's tannin cuts the fat), Estofado de Cordero (lamb stew).