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Tenacious Tannat

Writer's picture: Jaco MeyerJaco Meyer

Tannat is probably one of the most underrated grape varieties out there, with its potential realised by only a few producers who mainly use it in blends. Originating from France, Tannat with its exceptionally harsh tannins caused winemakers to develop the process of micro-oxygenation where controlled amounts of oxygen are brought into contact with the wine to make it more approachable. Yet, the French makes a bold version of Tannat in the Madiran AOC. Uruguayan consumers absolutely love Tannat and has now claimed it as their ‘national grape variety’ since it was introduced to them in the 1900s by Basque settlers.

 

Tannat found its way to America, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bolivia, Italy, Peru and South Africa, with a few producers making single varietal Tannat in South Africa. I have presented the Tenacious Tannat tasting on 5 April to taste a Tannat from Uruguay and the 10 Tannat single varietals I could find from South Africa, some that have been discontinued in the meantime and has graciously been made available from the producers’ vinothèques. Of the 4,000ha of Tannat planted all around the world, only 114ha is planted in South Africa. France has the largest plating of Tannat with approximately 2,500ha, followed by Uruguay with about 1,700ha. South African Tannat is thus only a spec in the bigger international picture of Tannat, but with very promising results.

 

Finding Tannat from South Africa was no easy task. Firstly, you find the blends, like Moveable Feast and KWV Roodeberg Classic blends, followed by a handful of producers who make this available to the general public. Most producers do not even list their Tannat wines on their websites or sales lists. They all have different reasons for it and not everyone agrees on the same challenges, other than that South Africans do not know the grape variety and is wary to try it.

 

The Tenacious Tannat tasting started off with the Bodega Garzón Tannat 2019. It is a juicy and full-bodied wine with red fruit, black fruit, spices and hints of tobacco leaf. The tannins were powdery and elegant, giving us a good insight of the lighter and more approachable style in which Tannat is produced in Uruguay. The first flight consisted of four wines. The Kranskop Tannat 2019 from Robertson is made in a light style with juicy strawberries, red cherries and hints of spices on the palate, but it is slightly shy on the nose. It is slightly high in alcohol (14.7%) but really dry on the palate, balanced by a good fruit profile. The Lowerland Tolbos Tannat 2020 from Prieska in the Northern Cape offered a much lower alcohol (12.68%) and more than a gram of sugar per litre more than the Kranskop. The fruit on this wine was reminding of ripe or tinned fruit, but against a very good acidic background. A slight oxidative note was evident on this wine. The third wine in this flight was the Mooibly Cultivar Tannat 2017 that was shy on the nose, but with punchy tannins. It offered a good fruity palate with a medium long finish of fruit, some mocha and a slight savoury undertone. The Lieben Tannat 2020 was very shy on the nose and took a while to open up on the palate. It had predominantly savoury notes, some cigar box notes, and subtle fruity notes.

 

The second flight started off with another set of Northern Cape wines. Firstly, the Landzicht Winemaker’s Selection 2021 which is the unwooded Tannat. Its light style is very attractive on the palate, it is a fruit bomb and has a long fresh finish. This wine is also the cheapest Tannat available at just below R100 a bottle. The Landzicht Winemaker’s Reserve 2019 has spent some time on oak and offers slightly riper fruit, coated tannins and more spiciness on the palate. It has a long finish that is fresh and reminding us of a good balance in the wine. The last wine in this flight was the Piekenierskloof Tannat 2021. This wine is shy on the nose, but bold on the palate with firm tannins, red and black fruit and some sweet oak spices integrated in the wine.

 

The final flight aimed to show how Tannat ages. Although bottle aged red wine is normally an acquired taste, it is not fully the case with Tannat. Tannat can easily age for 10 years and its tertiary development would not necessarily indicate age with notes such as cherry cola or a brown colour. The first wine in this flight was the Druk my niet Tannat 2014 and this wine literally knock your socks off from the nose, through the palate all the way to the finish. It is a brilliant wine, with the perfect balance between fruit, acidity and alcohol. The Glen Carlou Tannat 2018 did not stand back here, with prominent fruitiness, a good complexity of cigar box, black pepper and jammy fruit. It is a very well-integrated wine that will leave you salivating for more. The Fairview Tannat 2013 is the only one that had a slight oxidative tertiary note from ageing, very appropriate and integrated well into the overall bouquet and palate of the wine.

 

The overall outcome of this tasting is that South African Tannat should not be underestimated and consumers do not have to be shy to try it, if they can get their hands on some of them that are mostly produced in small batches. If it takes you some time to build up confidence before you enjoy this wine, it will happily live on the cellar shelf and make a good return on investment when you eventually open it.

 

The scores reflected below are the tasting panel score, with the official Decanter WTC scores in brackets.

·       Glen Carlou Tannat 2018: 94 (94) – enquire here

·       Druk my niet Tannat 2014: 93 (95) – enquire here

·       Fairview Tannat 2013: 92 (93) – enquire here

·       Piekenierskloof Tannat 2021: 90 (93) – buy here

·       Kranskop Tannat 2021: 89 (92) – buy here

·       Landzicht Winemaker’s Selection Tannat 2021: 89 (94) – buy here

·       Landzicht Winemaker’s Reserve Tannat 2019: 89 (93) – buy here

·       Mooibly Cultivar Tannat 2017: 89 (92) – buy here

·       Lowerland Tolbos Tannat 2020: 85 (90) – buy here

·       Lieben Tannat 2020: 84 (87) – enquire here




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