Garzon

Bodega Garzon is Uruguay's most ambitious wine estate, a large, gravity-fed winery built into the hills of Maldonado near the Atlantic coast. The combination of cool ocean breezes, granite soils, and warm but not excessive sunshine makes for conditions that suit Albariño particularly well, which is not an obvious conclusion but one the wine bears out.

Garzon produces fine wine rather than everyday drink: the Albariño in particular shows the freshness and floral lift of the grape combined with a weight and complexity that the Uruguayan terroir adds. Uruguay as a wine country is still underestimated, and Garzon makes a strong case for paying attention.