Tempranillo Report

Tempranillo comes from the Spanish word “temprano”, meaning “early”.  This grape is picked

several weeks earlier than most other Spanish red grapes.  Pinot Noir and Tempranillo flower

around the same time.  It is usually cultivated early for a low fixed acid content and a high pH. 

Tempranillo is a thick skinned, black grape which has its heritage in Spanish, but has been

planted around the world and occupies 27, 500 hectares of cultivated land.  

Map of where Tempranillo is grown

It grows best at high altitudes, but can also due fairly well in warm climates such as California

and South Africa.  In order to get acid out of the wine, you need a cold climate, but in order to

get high sugar levels and a deep color, heat is needed.  This creates the need for quite the

balancing act of the climate.  It has a tendency to grow upright which is a positive since that

reduces the labor required to reposition the shoots. However, in addition to normal shoot

thinning, the bunches also need to be thinned throughout the growing season.  This means that

the only 3.5 tons per acre should be produced.  Another thing to pay attention to when planting is

that Tempranillo absorbs potassium very easily. If too much potassium is absorbed, the pH can

be altered to the point that the grape salsifies. In order to avoid this, one must thoroughly check

the soil before planting.

Tempranillo on the vine

Despite these limitations, Tempranillo has been planted on almost every continent.  The wine

produced from this grape has a ruby red color.  The general flavor profile includes berries, herb,

leather, vanilla, tobacco, plum, prunes, leather and oak.  This grape has been cultivated for over

2,000 years and the plant itself has mutated due to different regions which it was planted in

which makes it a very interesting grape varietal.  It is difficult to generalize Tempranilllo since

the palate changes with every region. 

Tempranillo from Spain

As mentioned above, Spain is where the grape originated from, specifically northern Spain.  It has been cultivated all over the country, but the two major regions are Rioja and Ribera del

Duero.  Ribero del Duero is Spain’s northern plateau that is mostly flat, has a rocky terrain and is home to some very famous wineries which specialize in Tempranillo.  Wine Enthusiast

Magazine named it the region of the year in 2012.  It is the best region for this grape because of its long cold winters and short, hot, dry summers.  This is large variation in day and night temperatures as well.  This grape thrives in this region due to the extreme temperatures allowing for a nice balance of acidity and sweetness. In order to put certain words on a bottle in Spain, the wine must have legally been aged for a certain amount of years and within those years, a certain amount of time in oak.  For example, if a label says “Crianza” then it must have aged two years and 12 of those months must have been in oak.  Aging is just as important as terroir or the grape variety.  Tempranillo out of Spain tends to be mixed with Grenache and Carinena and this is known as Roja as Mazuelo.  Flavors

associated with Tempranillos from Spain include leather, cherries, underbrush and limestone.  As

many Tempranillo varietals and blends are aged in oak, smoky, creamy, buttery flavors are plentiful too.

Protugal likes to use Tempanillo in red table wines as well as port wines.  In Douro it is known

as Tinta Roriz and in Alentejo Central it is known as Aragonez.     Douro has vineyards along

almost vertical slopes which lead into valleys.  The flavor profile varies from Spain in the type of

wine produced, but not the grape.  Most of Portugal’s vineyards are along its border with Spain

making it very difficult to distinguish between the two.  Port wines are fortified and are often

classified as sweet wines.  This is Portugal’s specialty, but few people realize how much of their

port wine is made from Tempranillo.

Ruby red color of Tempranillo

California has become a large producer of Tempranillo just in the last few years.  Most of the

wine world considers wineries in California to just be experimenting with this grape. It plays a

role in many blends out of California, but under the name Valdepenas instead of Tempanillo.  Of

course California is not sticking to the rules of thinning out the bunches throughout the season

and over planting the grape according to the Spaniards, but they have been doing fairly well. 

More and more varietal wines are appearing on the market for Tempranillo out of California. 

Due to the warm climate, the winemakers have a little more wiggle room since the grape

produces more sugar in their region.  This does mean they have to deal with a lack of acidicty, so

sometimes they make their final product 10% Grenache or so.  Since there is a large climate

difference between California and Spain/Portugal, there is also a distinct difference in their wine. 

California tends to produce soft, silky Tempranillos that may lack acidity.  I cannot wait to watch

not only California, but the entire new world continue to try new things with this grape and

develop new flavor profiles for it.

California Winery

Many people may have never thought they had tried Tempranillo before, but that might be

because it goes by so many different names.  This grape tends to be in many blended wines too. 

I think the wine world needs to venture off the beaten path and try this wine because it is new

exciting and delicious.  Next time you decide to drink a blended wine, check to see how much of

this up and coming grape is in there!

Sources:
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/jrs03409.html
theheritagecook.com 
http://www.theworldwidewine.com/Wine_reviews/Weekly_cheap_wine_reviews/wine_lovers_bargain_review_rgst.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempranillo
http://www.wine-searcher.com/grape-483-tempranillo
http://www.tapenawines.com/tempranillo-spanish-wines.html
http://www.easyfoodandwine.com/Tempranillo-Wine-Grape.html
Nesto, Bill (December 2004). "Spain's great indigenous grape variety Tempranillo. Massachusetts Beverage Business. 
 Lorkin, Yvonne (2 May 2012). "Wine: Toiling behind the Vale". Bay of Plenty Times(Tauranga, New Zealand: APN Holdings). 
http://www.29travels.com/travelmap/
http://www.wine.com/v6/Tempranillo/wine/list.aspx?N=7155+124+169