Wine & Words

Reinares Tempranillo 2007 (Vino de la Tierra de Castilla, Spain)
The Tempranillo (temp-ruh-NEE-yo or NEEL-yo) grape is the most widely planted red grape in Spain. It gets its name from the Spanish word temprano which means “early.” This early ripening characteristic means it is reliable even in years when the notorious rains of autumn come early, watering down the harvest of grapes that need more hang time on the vines.
This Tempranillo wine (in Spain they just call it “vino tinto”) from the Bodegas Eguren (who make both the tasty Mercedes Eguren Cab Rosado we Featured not long ago and the incredible bargain Protocolo).  Bodegas Eguren is part of the Bodegas Heredad Ugarte group that is headquartered in Rioja but makes traditional wines in various regions of Spain. Heredad Ugarte was founded in 1957 to bring international concerns with sustainability and environmental impact to traditional Spanish winemaking. I like what they say about that:

“We are aware that the right we have as human beings to possess, steward and use natural resources is bound up with the duty to prevent environmental damage. The winery needs natural resources to operate (raw materials, water, energy) and it generates wastes (cardboard, glass, etc.). Each act of consumption sets in motion an entire network of interactions in which raw materials and energy from all over the globe are used up. For this reason, the effects of irresponsible consumption not only have a bearing on the local environment; rather, they extend across the entire planet, causing such environmental damage as the depletion of natural and energy resources and intoxications of the ecosystem. “

In Spain vinos de la tierra de… are like the vin de pays de… appellation in France. These are wines of a certain regional style that can be “of the country of…” for 5 years while they apply for the more elevated and recognized Denominación de Origen (DO) status. The Tierra de Castilla is the land of Don Quixote, on the hot and arid plains of central Spain, south of Madrid. The grapes on this table land soak up the hot sun during the day, then enjoy the fact that a desert plain cools very quickly when the sun goes down.
The El Comendador vineyard, where the grapes were grown, was planted in 1989 with Tempranillo and yields just over 3 tons an acre, a low yield that concentrates the grape flavors. The wine is fermented in stainless steel then moved to American oak vats for malolactic fermantation (the secondary fermentation that turns the crisp, apple-like acids into creamy, buttery acids) and then on to American oak barrels to age for three months.
Some of the reviews refer to this wine as “sweet” but I think that’s just the rich, ripe fruit style that doesn’t have the tannic clip that a Rioja Reserva might have. I’d prefer to call it “easy drinking,” a good wine to introduce you to the Tempranillo grape and Spanish wines made in the international style.