Wine & Words

Tempranillo, Spain’s Noble Grape

Tempranillo is Spain’s quintessential, indigenous “Noble Grape”. Jancis Robinson says in the Oxford Companion to Wine, that it is “Spain’s answer to Cabernet Sauvignon.” It is a “classic” quality grape variety and responsible for making some of Spain’s best wines. The term “Tempranillo” comes from the Spanish word temprano, for “early”, referring to the fact that this grape ripens sooner than the other traditional varietals in Spain (2 weeks earlier than Garnacha, for example). It’s a thick-skinned black grape used to make full-bodied red wines of various styles, depending on where it’s grown, vinified and blended. Our Features this week are four Tempranillo-based wines that demonstrate the styles and versatility of this great wine grape.

A note on pronunciation: I learned my Spanish from South American speakers, so I had always pronounced the name of this grape the way most Americans do – “tem-prah-NEE-yoh,” with the double “l” sounding like a “y.” But when I toured the Heretat de Fontanars winery outside of Xativa, our guide, Juan, always pronounced it “tem-pra-NIL-yoh,” pronouncing the “l” sound. Since this is a grape of Spanish origin, I’ve adopted the Spanish pronunciation (when I remember). It probably makes me sound like a Spanish wine geek; but, hey, I’m proud to be.

Maximo Tempranillo 2006 (Vino de la Tierra de Castilla, Spain) Regular Price $13.50, Feature Price $10.80

This is what I’d call a “beginner’s Tempranillo.” Though it’s made from 100% Tempranillo grapes, those grapes are grown in the warm, dry region of western Castilla y Leon where they develop a lot of fruit with less of the tannic structure of a more classic style from Rioja or Ribera del Duero. The wine spends 6 months in a combination of American and French oak barrels and another 6 months in the bottle before being released, making it eligible for “Crianza” designation if it was from Rioja. This is a wine for drinking on its own or, like all Spanish reds, it will pair with sturdy, hearty food and rowdy, reliable friends.

Dehesa Gago 2007 (Toro, Spain) Regular Price $17.40, Feature Price $13.92

This is another wine from Telmo Rodriquez and partner Pablo Eguzkiza, the first they made in Toro, the region to the northwest of Rueda (where they make the popular Basa). It is made from the indigenous strain of Tempranillo, known as “Tinto de Toro,” in a way that highlights and features the varietal character of the grape. The grapes are from old vines that have had time to develop the character of the variety and the soil and climate conditions of the Toro region. The wine is made without oak aging, again to show off the ripe fruit character. If you want to know what well-grown Tempranillo grapes taste like, this is the wine to try.

La Rioja

The most classic and best known Tempranillo wines in Spain come from the north central region of La Rioja. Rioja wines are usually blended and oak aged very much in the Bordeaux style, which comes from the influence of Bordelaise winemakers who moved to Rioja in the 1800’s after the phylloxera mite destroyed most of the vineyards in Bordeaux. Rioja reds must contain at least 50% Tempranillo, with the rest being Graciano (Monastrell) and Mazuelo (Carignan). Compared to the typical Bordeaux blend, think of the Tempranillo as the Cabernet Sauvignon, the Graciano as the Merlot, and the Mazuelo (Carignan) as the Cabernet Franc. These wines also use oak aging to mellow and tame the tannins of the big, dark grapes. Traditional Rioja wines use American oak to impart the familiar vanilla flavor, but more bodegas are now mixing that with the more subtle influences of French oak.

Rioja red wines carry one of four designations:

• Joven (“young”) – little or no aging, made for early consumption
• Crianza (“breeding” or “upbringing”) – aged 2 years, 1 year in oak
• Reserva – aged 3 years, at least 1 year in oak
• Gran Reserva – top quality wines from very good vintages, aged 5 years, at least 2 years in oak

These wines should be served at cool room temperature (64-68 Fahrenheit) and usually need some breathing or aeration to open up the full flavor. They’re made to go with hearty foods, meats, stews, sausage and strong cheese. Oh, you can drink this wine anytime with anything.

Beronia Reserva 2001 (Rioja, Spain) Regular price $22.00, Feature price $17.60

Bodegas Beronia, in the Rioja Alta region, takes its name from the “Berones,” an indigenous Iberian people who lived in the area around 300 BC. I doubt those old Berones made any wine this good. This is classic Rioja, a blend of Tempranillo (89%), Graciano (5%) and Mazuelo (6%). This Reserva follows the usual pattern of aging in the bodega for at least 3 years. In this case, 18 months of that are in French and American oak, the other 18 months is in bottle.

Beronia Gran Reserva 2001 (Rioja, Spain) regular price $29.50/ Feature price $23.60

The Rioja harvest of 2001 was pronounced “Excelente” by the local governing body, the first such high designation since 1995. That’s the kind of vintage that calls for the special handling that makes an age-worthy Gran Reserva wine like this one. The blend is Tempranillo (87%), Graciano (5%), Mazuelo (8%). At 14%, the alcohol is a little higher than I like in a food wine. But this is a BIG wine, drinkable now but worth aging for at least another 10 years. I think I may lay a few bottles down and see how they change over the next couple of years.