Tannat in Argentina
From France to South America
Tannat comes originally from Madiran, in southwest France, where it makes famously tough, age-worthy reds. Its great second act, though, was in South America: Basque settlers carried it across the Atlantic in the 19th century — a journey strikingly similar to Malbec's — and it took root above all in Uruguay, which adopted it as its national flagship grape. Argentina got it too, and quietly found a niche where it does something neither France nor Uruguay can quite replicate.
Tiny, but punching above its weight
Tannat is a genuine rarity in Argentina — it accounts for less than 1% of the country's red grapes, a sliver next to the oceans of Malbec. But the small plantings it does have are concentrated in exactly the right place, and the wines they make have earned serious critical respect. This is a connoisseur's grape: little-known, hard to find, and beloved by those who do.
