Pizzorno Select Blend Reserva 2023

Pizzorno Family Estates has been making wine in Canelones since 1910, with the fourth generation continuing the family estate in Canelón Chico. The 21 hectares surrounding the winery are planted on gently sloping land with shallow, permeable loamy-clay and calcareous soils. The estate places particular emphasis on environmental stewardship, avoiding soil fertilisation and using water rationally, while green pruning, leaf removal and bunch thinning are used to regulate yields and encourage healthy, concentrated fruit. The Select Blend Reserva brings together three varieties well suited to Canelones: 50% Tannat, 30% Malbec and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. The combination gives Tannat’s structure and savoury character a broader, more rounded dimension from the Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Each variety is vinified separately in concrete tanks before the final blend is assembled. The wine then spends 18 months in a combination of American and French oak, allowing the tannins to soften while adding spice, vanilla and cedar alongside the ripe fruit. Deeply coloured and full-bodied, it shows blackcurrant, blackberry, plum and dark cherry, with notes of vanilla, chocolate, cedar and warm spice. The palate is concentrated but balanced, with rounded, polished tannins, fresh acidity and a long finish. This is a substantial red suited to grilled or roasted beef, lamb, slow-cooked stews, rich pasta dishes and mature hard cheeses. It has the structure to develop further in bottle.