Santiago Deicas, the new generation at Familia Deicas who own Juanicó, the country’s largest
wine company, talks to Societynews editor Joanna Goodman about Uruguay, its wines and his
family business.
What do you know about Uruguay?
If, like me, your answer is not a lot,
it seems we’re not alone. Santiago
Deicas tells me that he spends much
of the year travelling and has done so
for 14 years (he is only 28!). ‘At first
I used to spend most of my time just
explaining where Uruguay is. Now,
however, thanks to sport [the
infamous footballer Suárez and the
national rugby team – for whom
Santiago once played] and our famous
out-going president, Mujica, people
seem to know a bit more about us.
Now I can talk more about wine.’
Buyer Toby Morrhall with Santiago in Stevenage last year
In the south-eastern part of South
America, Uruguay has Argentina
to the west and Brazil to the north
and east, with the Atlantic Ocean
to the south and south-east. Most
of the wine production goes on near
to the capital, Montevideo, around
the 34th parallel, which puts the
vineyards on a similar latitude to
Santiago and Mendoza, Stellenbosch
and the Barossa.
'In Uruguay we have weather not climate!'
But, Santiago says, forget
preconceptions about South
American-style wines, ‘Yes, we make
wines in a new world style, but they
are so different from our neighbours.’
He goes on to explain, ‘In Uruguay we
have weather not climate!’ As Brits,
we know that this means it’s wet.
Uruguay has on average 900–1,000mm
of rain a year, with cool, often strong
breezes blowing in from the Atlantic,
frequent fog; extremes of temperature
are rare; it’s essentially a temperate,
mild climate. As Society wine buyer
Toby Morrhall says, ‘I always feel at
home in Uruguay after being in Chile
or Argentina… cloud, rain, winds…
it feels much more like Europe.’
The Deicas family home dates from 1845 and was one of the first to have an ageing cellar constructed beneath it
So it comes as no surprise then that
the grape that has become practically
synonymous with Uruguay is tannat,
the grape of Madiran in south-west
France. Santiago says that the Basques,
and one Pascual Harriague in particular,
brought the grape to Uruguay in
the 1870s. They must have known
what they were doing as the grape’s
thick skin makes it one of the best
rot-resistant varieties. ‘Tannat likes
humidity but it’s important to plant
in well-drained soils,’ Santiago
explains, ‘Our land is hilly rather than
mountainous but there are lots of
different terroirs within a small area,
the tannat likes limestone and clay,
which we have.’
Santiago goes on to point out that as
a variety, tannat ripens relatively late
too, ‘this gives us the chance to get
perfect phenolic ripeness in the grape
… we might have a similar rainfall as
south-west France but we have much
more sunshine. We usually have
humidity right through to harvest
which is important because without
this the grape skins would shrivel and
the tannins in the pips wouldn’t ripen.
We nearly always get perfect ripeness
in our grapes.’
'You have to harvest at just the right moment, you have to taste the grapes and crunch the pips, if you leave it just a week too late you get wines that are too jammy.'
So the combination of old world
‘weather’ and new world sunshine
produces, uniquely in Uruguay, wines
from a traditionally ‘rustic’ variety,
with good balance, that aren’t
super-high in alcohol with good
natural acidity and fresh aromas.
Santiago says that the real secret is
knowing when to pick the grapes,
‘You have to harvest at just the right
moment, you have to taste the grapes
and crunch the pips, if you leave it just
a week too late you get wines that are
too jammy.’ Santiago points out that
this is why it is important to own your
own vineyards, ‘the family needs to
make the decision about what needs
to be done with each plot.’
The Deicas family owns 300 hectares
of vineyards (Uruguay’s total area
under vine is 8,000 ha) and they are
the country’s largest wine producer.
'Santiago's grandmother is 104 - testament to the heart-healthy tannat grape or maybe the bitter maté tea that everyone drinks!'
The company was started by
Santiago’s grandfather Juan Carlos
Deicas in 1979; he’s in his 80s now
but still active on the board of the
company. Santiago’s grandmother is
104 – testament to the heart-healthy
tannat grape or maybe the bitter maté
tea that everyone drinks! Juan Carlos
started from modest beginnings but
studied economics and was interested
in many different things; he was a
banker, tax adviser and set up a bus
company which he still runs. ‘But he
saw the opportunities in the wine
industry,’ Santiago says, ‘it’s certainly
the business he’s most passionate about
even if it isn’t the most profitable!’
Santiago’s father Fernando now runs
the company. He studied chemical
engineering and travelled widely
before returning home with a clear
strategy for the wines. In 1982/83 he
replanted everything, with the first
top-quality wine emerging in 1992.
The distinctive lyre system of training sauvignon blanc, used to manage vigour
As well as learning from his own
travels, particularly in France and Italy,
importantly, Fernando also brought
in foreign expertise to Juanicó, taking
advice from internationally renowned
consultants like Paul Hobbs and Patrick
Ducournau. Toby Morrhall explained
the significance of Ducournau’s input:
‘The Uruguayans have taken on board
Ducournau’s work with the tannat
grape more so than the French.
He developed a way of using microoxidation to help soften the tough
tannins in tannat wines. When you age
the wine in bottle, you see the same
process, but rather than taking years,
this process takes a couple of weeks.
The Atlántico Sur Garzón
Vineyard Seleccion Especial
Maldonado Tannat 2011 shows just
how sweet and silky the tannins can
become (ref N-UR321, £11.95).
But while tannat is a key variety for
the Deicas family and indeed Uruguay,
it isn’t all that is grown here. Another
interesting variety is marselan, a cross
between grenache and cabernet
sauvignon developed in Montpellier to
have good disease resistance. ‘We are
really pleased with the results of this
grape, it makes totally dry, pure wines
that have that winning combination of
perceived sweetness and freshness.’
Santiago says.
Founder of Juanicó, Juan Carlos Deicas with son Fernando (right) and grandson, Santiago
Bordeaux varieties cabernet
sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot
and petit verdot are also grown (try the newly shipped Atlántico Sur San José Petit Verdot 2015). The family’s top red,
Gran Bodegón is a Bordeaux-style
blend and shows just how good the
country’s best wines can be (2010,
ref N-UR331, £21). The reds are the
perfect foil for the excellent local beef.
'We eat beef every day,’ Santiago says,’ We love our asados [barbecues], we have these at least once a week.’'
‘We eat beef every day,’ Santiago says,’
We love our asados [barbecues],
we have these at least once a week.’
Toby and Santiago put the superior
quality of the beef down to the fact
that the country’s 20 million cows are
all free range, ‘the grass isn’t as lush
as the Argentine pampas so they have
to walk further, it probably makes
for leaner, more flavoursome meat,’
Toby concludes.

As for whites, the family produces
sauvignon blanc and chardonnay – try
the newly shipped Juanicó Benteveo Chardonnay 2015 (ref N-UR441,
£7.25) – as well as viognier, sauvignon
gris and pinot gris. They also have a
lovely freshness and complement the
amazing seafood that thrives in the
cold Atlantic waters.
The family markets its entry-level
and medium-level wines under the
Juanicó label while Familia Deicas is
used for the top wines. Their premium
wine is called Gran Bodegón and
shows the potential of this tiny
country to make a big splash on the
world stage: South American wines
with a distinctly European accent,
which in this family’s hands at least,
are well worth seeking out.
> Try the new Atlántico Sur San José Petit Verdot 2015 at the special Explore price of £8.50 instead of £9.95 until Sunday 29th May 2016.
> Browse for wines from Familia Deicas and Juanicó