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Tempranillo is a dark-skinned red wine grape variety which forms the backbone of some of the very finest wines from Spain and Portugal. Almost every red wine from Rioja and Ribera del Duero in Spain has Tempranillo at its core, and in Portugal the variety is also widely used in Port and dry table wines from the Douro. Tempranillo vines have made their way successfully to both Australia and Argentina and, perhaps predictably, there is also a certain Tempranillo following in California. A thick-skinned variety whose high anthocyanin count makes for deep-colored wines with moderate tannins, Tempranillo is well suited to the demands of the modern wine consumer. While it lacks its own idiosyncratic flavor profile, the wide range of aromas detectable in Tempranillo-based wines has a charm in and of itself, with tasting notes ranging from strawberries, blackcurrants and cherries to prunes, chocolate and tobacco. The former three notes typically come from younger examples from cooler climates, while the latter three develop with increased vineyard heat and age. Tempranillo grapes are not known for their naturally high acidity, and it is all too easy to find flat, overblown Tempranillo from the baked plains of La Mancha which leaves the drinker in no doubt that this is a wine from a hot, flat environment (Manxa means 'parched earth' in Arabic). On the other hand, this lack of abundant acidity (when compared to the likes of Barbera or Nebbiolo, for example) serves Tempranillo very well indeed when it grows in topographically diverse regions with high diurnal temperature variation. Hot, sunny days encourage the grapes to ripen fully, while cold nights help them to retain their natural acid balance. The result is bright, lively, fruit-driven wines with just the right balance of warmth and tanginess. And this is where Tempranillo comes into its own. It is no surprise, then, that the continental terroirs of Argentina and Australia have been the first New World regions to adopt Tempranillo. As is the case with Grenache, Tempranillo lends itself well to cultivation in bush vine or 'goblet' form, which is how it has traditionally been grown across the Iberian Peninsula. The freedom allowed to bush vines is thought to encourage development of the fruitier flavors in the resulting wines, although for many Spanish growers are now obtaining good results from Tempranillo vines trained in on wires. Being a vigorous variety, a fearless pruning regime is essential to keep fruit quality at its best. Tempranillo means 'the little early one', a name given to it by Spanish grape growers who observed its habit of ripening earlier than Grenache (or rather, Garnacha), its traditional Spanish blending partner. It also goes by the synonyms Tinto Madrid, Tinto de la Rioja, Tinta de Toro and Cencibel, not to mention its Portuguese names Aragones and Tinta Roriz.
Click on a listed Tempranillo
wine
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