Bodega Garzon Marselan 2022 Review

Published by Jeremy.

Disclaimers: This review uses WSET Diploma terminology and our own rating scale. Read more here. We use demographic data, email opt-ins, display advertising, and affiliate links to operate this site. Please review our Terms and Conditions for more information. This website is intended for those of legal drinking age in your jurisdiction.

Normally when you think of wines from South America, your attention shifts to Argentina or Chile- two of the larger producers of wine on the continent.

But Uruguay holds its own with producing stellar wine, and while it may be known for the tannin-forward Tannat, there are other unique grapes to found here, like Marselan!

For those who love fruit almost to the point of being jammy, with prominent tannins (that are perhaps not as intense as Tannat), Marselan made for quite the interesting pour.

Fruit Forward and Ripe Marselan from Uruguay

This Uruguayan Marselan was medium ruby in color, with medium aromas of black cherry, blackberry, clove, blueberry, cassis, vanilla, cranberry, black raspberry, and violet.

On the palate, it was dry with medium(+) acidity, smooth tannin, and finish, plus medium alcohol, body, and flavor intensity. We had notes of blueberry, blackberry, clove, black pepper, cedar, cassis, black cherry, and vanilla. This one was fruity and almost even on the slightly jammy side with an intensity that held its own against the tannin and acidity.

Marselan Food Pairing – Beef Heart Tacos

We paired this fruity red wine with tacos made with cow heart and topped with homemade mole. The jammy notes were muted just a bit due to this intense flavor pairing, and we had a slight increase in earthy characteristics that complemented the food well. That said, many of the strong fruit characteristics held without too much of a change in perceptible flavor despite being paired with an intensely flavorful dish (particularly the mole)!

Score: 3 / 5

We'd buy a glass of this one.

For those who like intense fruit in their wines with ripe and almost jammy characteristics, Marselan should be on your radar. While this one perhaps was not the best pairing for our meal, we enjoyed the flavor profile and would gladly have a glass again in the future.

Bodega Garzon is located at 9 km. 175, 20400 Garzón, Departamento de Maldonado in Uruguay. We purchased this bottle on Wine.com and enjoyed it in 2024.