Proyecto Nakkal Nakcool Tinto 2023 750ml

URUGUAY : CANELONES

ORGANIC : Merlot, Muscat Ottonel

LIGHT-BODIED, DARK CHERRY, PLUM, VIOLETS, FLORAL MUSK, NO OAK

Proyecto Nakkal launched in 2020, when childhood friends Nicolás Monforte and Santiago Degásperi set out to make Uruguay's first dedicated natural wine project. The Nakcool line is their everyday range — low alcohol, zero added sulfites, nothing fined or filtered, and a grape combination that shouldn't work on paper: Merlot co-fermented with Muscat Ottonel, the latter rescued from abandoned vines in Rincón Del Cerro and macerated on skins for a week to load up the aromatics.

The 2023 comes in at 10.5% ABV — not a misprint. That's where the winemakers want it, harvesting the Merlot early for freshness and holding back on ripeness. The result is a wine that sits closer to a sophisticated house pour than a statement bottle: dark cherry, plum, violets, a hint of floral musk, light tannins, and the kind of acidity that makes you reach for another glass. Serve it at 55–58°F and it drinks like the best version of a Beaujolais-Villages you never paid $16 for.

Canelones sits near sea level, a short drive from Montevideo, shaped by the cool maritime influence of the Río de la Plata. Clay soils with high organic matter. The climate lends itself to exactly this style of wine — soft, fresh, low in weight and high in drinkability. What Nakkal has done is take that terroir and strip out every winemaking crutch to let it show up clean.

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