Visitors to the Hotel Terravina at New Forest, near Southampton, in Hampshire, England, can enjoy now the Marichal Reserve Collection Tannat 2007. The wine theme hotel is owned by Gerard Basset, the best sommelier in the world since 2010, who chose this wine to restart the adding of wines from Uruguay.
The Marichal family is more than happy: one of their wines for sale in the United Kingdom was chosen to be in the wine list of the Hotel Terravina. This luxurious boutique hotel was awarded "Newcomer of the Year" by the Good Hotel Guide, Conde Nast named it as one of the 65 Best New Hotels and it was the winner as Small Hotel of the Year in the South East of England in the prestigious Tourism ExSEllence Awards in 2008.
Being there is of particular importance because the owners of Terravina are no less than Gerard and Nina Basset, who purchased the property in 2007 and spent several months modifying it to achieve its ideal: an elegant, simple, theme hotel in the Californian style, where food and wine would play the main roles.

It could not have been otherwise since Gerard Basset is one of the main personalities in the world of wine. He was born in France and arrived in England in the 80s, there he studied and graduated with the titles of Master Sommelier, Master of Wine and Wine MBA. In 1992 he won the Best International Sommelier for French Wines in Paris, and in 1996 he won as Best Sommelier of Europe in Raims. In the contest conducted by the Association of Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) every three years, he classified second in 1992 (Rio de Janeiro) and in 2004 (Athens), and shared a second place in 2007 in Rhodes. It was in Chile where he earned the title of Best Sommelier in the World in 2010, which he will hold until 2013 when he returns to the international competition to be conducted in Tokyo.

Together with Gerard Basset collaborate in Terravina the chefs Laurent Richet and Neil Cooper, who won the UK Gastronomy Award in 2010, and a team of sommeliers among which stands out Laura Rhys, a young woman who in 2009 was named as the Academy of Food & Wine's UK Sommelier of the Year in the 29th edition of the competition.
Gerard Basset, Laurent Richet and Laura Rhys chose the Marichal Reserve Collection Tannat 2007 from a selection presented by the importer Wines of Uruguay UK. This wine, made with grapes from the vineyards in Etcheverría, Canelones, was 70% aged during 12 months in French and American oak barrels, and has a laying-down potential of 12 years. After receiving several international prizes, Marichal's Reserve Collection Tannat 2007 was lately awarded the prize for Best Tannat in Uruguay in the National Competition The Consumers' Choice, in 2009.

Source: www.bodegasdeluruguay.com.uy