Wine Lingo
Tempranillo from Spain
DISCOVER - March 10, 2010
By Jake Kosseff
Even though the delicious wines made from Tempranillo are gaining in popularity in the United States, it's still possible to show adventurous good taste by sharing one with friends. These full-bodied wines, with sappy red fruit flavors and moderate acidity and tannins, go wonderfully with a range of foods from wild mushrooms to poultry to red meat, and with firm cheeses, especially blue.
Tempranillo is native to Spain, where it is the most planted red grape variety (and VERY popular). The best-known Spanish Tempranillos are Rioja and Ribera del Duero (where the grape is known as Tinto Fino). Rioja tends to be a little softer, while Ribera del Duero tends to be more muscular. Tempranillo from Toro (Tinto del Toro) produces wines that are massively powerful. Elsewhere in Spain it is known by a variety of other names, including Tinto de Madrid, Cencibel, Tinto del País, and Ull de Llebre.
Tempranillo isn't only from Spain. In Portugal, the grape makes a cameo appearance in Port (known as Tinta Roriz) and in the reds of Southern Portugal (known as Aragonez). It's also grown in Argentina and a small but increasing amount is grown in Australia and the U.S. Since limited production makes most of these hard to find, it makes sense to start with the Spanish ones, and explore from there.
Here are a few of my favorites that are also widely available:
2006 Emilio Moro Ribera Del Duero ~$19
Darkly colored, full-bodied, and deeply flavored. Black cherry, red plum, clove, cocoa and baking spice are backed up by smooth but firm tannins and vibrant acidity.
2003 Bodegas Fernandez Rivera Dehesa la Granja Vino de la Tierra de Castille y Leon ~$20
Big, Big, BIG! Powerful flavors of cherry, plum and raspberry, framed by spice, vanilla, notes of tar and substantial, but smooth tannins.
2004 Condesa de Leganza La Mancha Crianza ~$12
(Crianza means that the wine was aged for a minimum of one year in oak and one in bottle)
Full of happy-go-lucky raspberry, strawberry and cherry fruit, framed by coffee, coconut and vanilla and soft tannins.
Rioja
Please see our Palate Stretcher Minute 00:60 for Rioja wine selections.
Our Wine Lingo series discusses common but often unclear wine language.
Wine mark-ups and prices vary, and, as such, Wine Country Minute 00:60 cannot guarantee the accuracy of the listed prices. Please check around to find the best price and availability.
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