Tempranillo
- FRUIT: cherry, plum and tomato
- OTHER: leather, tobacco, vanilla, and clove
- OAK: Yes. Commonly 12-18 mo. in American or French Oak
- TANNIN: Medium (+)
- ACIDITY: Medium (-)
- Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 13-14.5%
COMMON SYNONYMS:
Tinto del Toro, Tinta Fina & Tinto del Pais (Spain); Tinta Roriz & Aragonez (Portugal)
OTHER NAMES:
Rioja, Valdepeñas, Ribera del Duero, Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva
ABOUT THE GRAPE:
Tempranillo, arguably the most famous of Spain's native grapes, is a vibrant, aromatic varietal that offers spicy, red fruit aromas and flavors. The grape's name translates to "little early one," a moniker that references fruit's early ripening tendency to thrive even with a short growing season.
There are numerous and differing accounts of how Tempranillo became one of Texas most planted and consumed grape variety's. We attribute its success to the common characteristics we share with it's home range in Portugal & Spain. It has been said that Texas needed a grape to represent the “T for Texas” but we cannot be sure thats true. It doesn’t matter the history at the moment what does matter to us is that Tempranillo is the "T" we believe will represent us and Texas in the world of wine. Texas Tempranillo regularly wins gold in international competitions and proves to be a formidable variety placing Texas among the best in the world.
The varietal shines and is considered at its best in top Riojas, where oak aging is employed to generate increased complexity and harmony. From the best sites, these wines can be remarkably concentrated with great aging potential. New wines from this region are darker, and more robust, with more dynamic primary fruit flavors than traditionally styled examples. These wines seem to reflect the influence of Spain's other key region for Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero. Regardless of style, Riojas tend to be medium bodied wines, with more acid than tannins. These wines generally feature Tempranillo blended with Garancha, Mazuelo, and Graciano.
In Portugal, Tempranillo is called Tinta Roriz, where it is used to produce wines that are fragrant and complex, with good color, body, backbone, and resistance to oxidation despite possessing only moderate acidity. The second most widely planted variety in the Douro region of Portugal, it is increasingly popular as a stand-alone variety for dry red wines.
