Originally from southwest France, Tannat, as the name implies, makes intensely tannic and age-demanding wine in its Madiran homeland. In the new world, similar to the story of Malbec, Tannat has taken on a new life in Uruguay due to its more approachable structure and more emphatic fruit flavors when grown here. The Rivera region in northern Uruguay close to the Brazilian border, features iron rich, red sandy soils and distinctive flat-top, dome-shaped hills that dot the landscape and give the winery its name. With a latitude of 31 degrees, the climate is quite warm in the summer, but this heat is mitigated by the 350 meter elevation. The founder of Bodega Cerro Chapeu, Juan Francisco “Quico” Carrau Pujol, was the eighth generation of his family to make wine when he founded the winery in 1975 and now his son and grandchildren make the ninth and tenth. The Folklore Tinto is a unique blend of sustainably farmed Tannat fermented with the skins of Petit Manseng, a white grape that also comes from southwest France, where its high acidity, loose clusters and thick skins make it well suited to making desert wines such as Jurançon. The fermenting must is drained off the skin, not pressed, after just 6 days, thus mitigating Tannat's notorious tannins, while the Petit Manseng gives extra acidity and, counter-intuitively, a darker color. The wine ages for just 3 months in second use barrels to retain the fruit. Aromas of dark fruits, violets, cedar and smoke with flavors of black currants, black cherries and black berries on ample, chalky tannins. Aged cheeses, grilled meats and tomato pastas will sing with this wine.