I just got back from a long weekend in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. If you’re ever in the area, you should definitely check out Bodega Bouza on the outskirts of Montevideo.
Getting there
Crossing the Andes
If you live in Chile or are coming to either Uruguay, Chile or Argentina from abroad, it’s only about a 2 hour flight between Santiago and Buenos Aires. It’s basically the same to Montevideo. Santiago to Mendoza is only 30 minutes. Bottom line, if you’re coming all this way to visit one of these countries and love wine, you might as well visit the other countries while you’re here. It’s interesting to see how the wines and bodegas differ in each region. The style, the culture and types of varieties are different in each country.
Overview of Wine Tourism in Uruguay
This was my first time in Uruguay, and our blog focuses on Chilean wines and wine tourism. Therefore, I’m only going to give a basic overview of wine tourism in Uruguay. If you’d like more information in English about wine travel in Uruguay or Argentina, check out the South American Wine Guide. Plus, Descorchados reviews wines from all of South America in Spanish if you want reviews of specific bottles.
Most of Uruguay’s traditional and current wine production is in the area north of Montevideo. This includes the Montevideo and Canelones wine regions. That means that most wineries that are set up for tourism can be visited from Montevideo.
Maldonado, which is east of Montevideo, is the up and coming region that most wine lovers are familiar with since that’s where Bodega Garzon is located. It’s the most ubiquitous Uruguayan wine brand around the world. This region is not far from Punta del Este, Uruguay’s most famous beach resort town. Hence, it makes sense to couple a visit to Punta del Este with winery visits in Maldonado.
Lastly, there are wineries around the town of Colonia del Sacramento, which is perhaps Uruguay’s top tourist destination. Therefore, you can visit wineries there and possibly wineries in the San Jose region, which is in between Colonia and Montevideo.
Although there are other smaller wine regions scattered throughout the rest of the country, the above regions are the ones best setup for tourism and where the majority of the country’s wines are produced. You can find more information about the other wine regions here. By the way, I was able to bring home a few bottles of less common varieties and smaller regions, so I will be sure to post about those wines after I taste them.
Our trip
If you only have 4-7 days, a nice itinerary you can do is combining a visit of Colonia and Montevideo with Buenos Aires, which is what we did. Colonia is only a 1 hour and 15 minute ferry ride from Buenos Aires. Montevideo is around 5 hours from Buenos Aires by ferry. A bus between Colonia and Montevideo will take 2.5-3 hours. Be sure to arrive at the ferry port 90 minutes early because you have to go through immigration since you’re traveling between countries.
We started in Buenos Aires, took the ferry to Colonia, took the bus to Montevideo and then flew back from Montevideo.
Steak in Buenos Aires
Although there isn’t major wine production around Buenos Aires, there are great restaurants and wine bars, where you can appreciate Argentinian wines. Plus, prices are generally better in Argentina than in Uruguay and Chile. This website gives a list of the top wine restaurants and bars in Buenos Aires. There’s only one winery that I know of that you can visit called Bodega Gamboa. It’s 45 minutes from downtown.
It should be noted that Argentinians and Uruguyans love beef and have traditional cultures centered around beef and cowboys. Therefore, you have to go to a steak restaurant at some point. In addition, grilled beef goes perfectly with the national grapes of each country: Malbec and Tannat. However, they tend to like their beef well-done, so be sure to emphasize that you want your beef “jugoso” or “muy jugoso” if you like your steaks medium-rare or less.
Although we didn’t have time to check out a winery around Colonia, we did taste some local wines at the restaurants. However, the biggest wine tourism part of our trip was visiting Bodega Bouza around Montevideo.
Bodega Bouza
Bodega Bouza
Bodega Bouza is an ideal first Uruguayan winery to visit because it’s so close to Montevideo, features wines from different regions in Uruguay, makes high quality wine and has the facilities for wine tourism and fine dining. 
The family bought a vineyard in Las Violetas, Canelones in 1999, from where they still source grapes today, but they settled in their current bodega in Melilla, Montevideo in 2001. It’s one of the closest wineries to the Montevideo city center, about 25 minutes from downtown. They’ve also expanded to vineyards in Maldonado with their Paz de Azucar and Las Espinas vineyards. Finally, they bought the Canelon Chico vineyard in Canelones which was owned by their winemaker Eduardo Boido.
They produce Tannat, Merlot and Tempranillo and Pinot Noir as their reds. They make Albariño, Chardonnay, Semillon, and Riesling as their whites. They were the first to introduce Albariño to Uruguay because of the Spanish connection in their family. Hence, they make Tempranillo too.
They also are one of the first to focus on single-parcel wines with their Parcela Unica line. With 5 vineyards, they have the ability to make different varieties as different single vineyard wines in addition to single varietal wines blended from different vineyards. For example, their entry-level Bouza line mixes their Montevideo and Canelones vineyards, and their premium Monte Vide Eu also mixes vineyards.
Tannat and Merlot are grown at all the vineyards. Chardonnay is grown everywhere except Canelon Chico. Pinot is only grown in the Maldonado vineyards and Riesling is only grown in Pan de Azucar. Maldonado has the most influence of cool air from the Atlantic, so it makes sense they make cooler climate grapes here. Albariño is grown in Montevideo and Canelones. 
In terms of winemaking, they use commercial yeasts and ferment in stainless steel. Oak ranges from 1st-3rd use French oak, American oak and French oak sourced from southern Russia. The single parcel wines get the most time in new oak of course. Their total production is about 180,000 bottles a year. They export around the world. Their wines range from around $15-60.
They offer tours, various tasting options and excellent food. The owners also have a collection of antique cars on display. They used to do their tastings in this room before the pandemic. I was able to taste 5 wines while there.
Tasting Notes
It was interesting to compare Tannat from different vineyards/regions. All the Tannat based wines have aging potential to improve. All the wines, except perhaps the Merlot, were 90+ point wines for me.
2019 Bouza Pan de Azucar Tannat
On rocky soil with ocean breeze influence, so I expected it to be their freshest Tannat, which it was. Dark, black purple color. Completely opaque. Nose-some gentle oak nose with cedar and tobacco mixed with dark fruit. Plum and loquat notes. Full-bodied palate with present but relatively soft tannins for Tannat at this age. Dark fruit, spice, vanilla and licorice. Balanced wine. Medium acid. Leans more Old World in terms of ripeness and oak although the tannins are more tamed than Madiran, Tannat’s original home. 5,590 bottles made. My favorite of the reds tasted. 
2020 Bouza Pan de Azucar Riesling
Planted on the foothills of the region. Nose of salinic minerality, citrus and slight petrol. Palate is medium bodied with some tannic structure, good acidity but lower than most German or Alsace Rieslings, with some spice. A dry Riesling that has varietal characteristics.
2020 Bouza Merlot
From their Bouza line, which means the wine is blended from Merlot in Canelones (Las Violetas) and Montevideo (Melilla). 9 months in French oak. Dark color for Merlot, but not opaque. Ripe nose. Creamy ripe palate with some coffee. Not overdone, but a typical fruity Merlot. There’s a bit of heat from the 14.5% alcohol.
2019 Bouza Monte Vide Eu
Features grapes from Las Violetas and Melilla. 50% Tannat, 30% Merlot and 20% Tempranillo. 14 months in new French oak. Dark color again. Riper, more modern nose than the Pan de Azucar Tannat. Richer, more oak influence, but still well integrated. Some coffee notes. Medium+ tannins. Med-low acid. Chalky tannins. Probably my second favorite red of the tasting. It’s in between the Pan de Azucar Tannat and the single parcel Tannat from Las Violetas, stylistically in terms of oak and ripeness.
2018 Bouza B2 Parcela Unica Tannat
From Las Violetas. 15 months in new French oak. Opaque. Ripe dark plummy fruity nose. Most tannic. Dark fruit. Chocolate. Fullest of all the reds. Low acid, but not flabby. Darkest and ripest of the reds. The best one for Napa wine lovers.