Tempranillo

                                             

Tempranillo is Spain's most popular red wine grape.  Mainly associated with Rioja and Ribera del Duero, Tempranillo has won over thousands of enthusiasts worldwide, making it the fourth most widely planted variety in the world.  

Moreover,  87% of the world's Tempranillo is grown in Spain, planted in more than 501,000 acres.  The popularity of Tempranillo in Spain has caused some to proclaim Tempranillo as Spain's answer to Cabernet Sauvignon.  

Not that Tempranillo tastes anything like Cabernet.  Fresh off the vine, Tempranillo has ripe juicy strawberry flavors, while Cabernet Sauvignon leans more to herbaceous.  

And, youthful Tempranillo has the up-front tannin  you might expect of an early-drinking red wine.  But after one taste  of a Rioja or Ribera, both made primarily from Tempranillo, any thought of a light  wine dissolves.   Tempranillo grows best in cooler climates at higher elevations. 

The Spanish word "temprano" means early.  In the vineyard, Tempranillo ripens before other grapes, mainly in chalky clay soils.  Chalk gives the wine acidity and elegance, while clay develops body.   

Layers of chalk and limestone can be found in Ribera del Duero and Burgundy.  The medium helps to improve the bracing acidity found in Tempranillo (and Pinot Noir), as well as helping to develop the spice, leather and tobacco leaf notes that mature with age in Tempranillo. 

In Rioja, Tempranillo marries well with American oak, lots of it.  Recognizing the demand for international wines has meant that a lot of wineries are replacing old American oak with new French oak.  Still, while a greater percentage of new oak is now the new reality in Rioja and Ribera, the tradition remains for long barrel aging in older oak. In Rioja, Crianza and Riserva wines are required to stay in oak for at least one year, and Gran Riserva for two years.  

A number of synonyms are used for Tempranillo, including Tinto Fino and Tinta del Pais in Ribera del Duero, Tinta de Toro in Toro, Ull de Lebre in Catalonia and Cencibel in La Mancha and Valdepenas.

Tempranillo's  nature makes it a good candidate for blending.  It has a neutral palate and needs the help of oak to be a wine for long aging.  Thus the need for blending with other varieties to give the wine more complexity and flavor with greater longevity.  Gran Riserva Rioja and Ribera, especially from old vines, can take long aging in  bottle

Garnacha (Grenache), Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano, the most common Spanish red grapes, are  blending partners with Tempranillo.  International varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah are being used more, as tastes continue to evolve. 

Records show that Tempranillo was first brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Phoenicians sometime between 1550 BCE and 300 BCE.  The Portuguese re-named the grape to Tinta Roriz, a major contributor to modern Port wine. 

In fact, it was once thought that Tempranillo was related to Pinot Noir.  Legend is that Cistercian monks left Pinot Noir cuttings along their pilgrimage in Spain, on the way to Santiago de Compostela. 

A Remembrance: I had read about the legend, but wanted to see for myself what The Way of St. James was all about. So, on a trip to Galicia, I took a moment to wander the narrow passageways near the cathedral in Compostela. 

Pausing to look in a shop window, I heard an eerie sound echoing off the high walls, growing louder. Then, around the corner strolled a young man playing a set of bagpipes, or more correctly, a gaita, the Galician bagpipe, an instrument that can be traced back to pre-Christian Celts.  

I admit to being part of a small minority that enjoys the sound of bagpipes, but I never expected to hear one in Spain.

Pausing to listen for a few minutes, I then made my way back to the cathedral. A group of road-weary pilgrims had gathered by the cathedral's low side door. Once a year, on the Day of St. James the Greater, the door is opened, allowing pilgrims to enter the cathedral. 

That, in itself, is not so unusual. But on the left side of the door frame there is a wet spot, that supposedly never dries. 

According to Catholic lore, the mysterious moisture is not connected to any source or pipe inside the church and is believed by the faithful to be holy water.  

As the pilgrims stooped to pass through the low door, they touched the spot and blessed themselves, bringing an end to their long pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago.  

Tempranillo's big success in Spain has spread worldwide to Portugal, Australia, Oregon, South Africa, Argentina and California.  A handful of California Tempranillos include Stevenot, Calaveras County, a Tempranillo pioneer in California; St. Amant, Amador; Justin and Booker, Paso Robles. 

Spanish red wines made from Tempranillo are available and affordable, from fresh and fruity, to aged and complex.

Next post: Wines of Santa Barbara County

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Unpublished post

Dear Readers,

Due to a disagreement with Blogger.com, the post, "NoLo & Natural" has been unpublished.  

The next blog, on Tempranillo, will be in your in box, June 20, 2025.

 

Gerald D. Boyd

 

Pink Wines for Summer

    

Summer is an ideal time for pink wine.  With temperatures on the rise, what could be more refreshing than to cool off with a lightly chilled glass of rosé wine.  

Uncomplicated and fruity, pink wines are just the thing for the hot months of summer.  If you like dry rosés, there's one for you.  If you like them sweeter, there's plenty of those too.  There is hardly a wine region in the world that does not have at least one rosé. 

Making a rosé is straight forward, mostly in stainless steel at low temperatures and no oak.  The idea is fruit retention and freshness.  Keep it simple and bottle early. 

In Provence, French winemakers employ a reductive style of wine making that allows controlled amounts of oxygen to increase freshness for Grenache and Cinsault, two varieties commonly used in pink wines.

Years ago, winemakers would blend a little white wine with red wine, and before they could say Bacchus, they had a pink wine.  Consumer preferences changed to rosés made from a range of red grapes.

Some wineries thought the clamor for rosés was a trend, so they kept their line of wines the same.  Others with new vines not yet ready to produce an honest red wine, picked the ripest grapes and made a pink wine.  

No matter what direction a winery takes, there are many different red grapes to chose.  In theory, a rosé can be made from any black grape. In practice, though, there is just a handful of varieties thought to make the best pink wines.   

France

The most popular is Grenache, common throughout the south of France, and especially in the southern Rhone Valley, for Tavel Rosé.  The color of many Tavel Rosés is dark enough to pass for a light red. But the wine has such a lip-smacking fruity flavor, that rosé fans are willing to ignore this transgression. 

A natural blending partner, especially in the Rhone, Languedoc and Roussillon, is Cinsault.  The differences between Grenache and Cinsault are more noticeable in the vineyard  than the winery.  Interest in Cinsault Rosé is on the rise.

France's other major area for pink wine is the Loire Valley.  The best known is Rosé d'Anjou, made from Grolleau.  Difficult to grow, Grolleau is slowly being replaced by Gamay and Cabernet Franc.  The latter grape is the variety of Cabernet d'Anjou, although there is a rosé made with Cabernet Sauvignon.

Grenache

California

Efforts in California to make a rosé from Cabernet Sauvignon have been sporadic, mainly because  the popular grape is too expensive to use for a pink wine.

Other black grapes, like Zinfandel, Syrah, Gamay, Pinot Noir, make flavorful rosés, but it's Grenache's  bright and lush strawberry flavors that are the popular choice of wine makers and wine drinkers.   

While Rhone Valley Grenache is different then California Grenache, the grape reaches its highest ripeness in warm climates.  Grenache is a complex wine that needs  bottle age to mature and it can be worrisome for winemakers.  When handled properly, though, Grenache Rosé is a wine that demands a second glass.

The importance of rosé wine has come a long way in California, although it still lags far behind red wine, even when the two wine styles are made from the same variety, such as Grenache or Gamay.

Warm growing areas, like most of inland California, produce high-sugar grapes and that means making a dry wine is difficult without having high alcohol.  Thus, with a few exceptions, California pink wines are off dry.  Zinfandel and Gamay can give the impression of sweetness, even when fermented to near dryness, but it's usually fruit "sweetness," not residual sugar.

A Rose by Any Other Name 

Pink wines are in demand everywhere.  Here are just a few more rosés you may see in your local wine shop.

Garnacha (Spanish for Grenache) is grown throughout Spain, for making substantial red wine as well as rosés.  The designations rosado and clarete,  are commonly used in Spain. 

In Italy, pink wines are either called rosato, or sometimes, chiaretto.  Both Italy and Spain use more specific rosé terminology, advising consumers that rosato/rosado are lighter and chiaretto/clarete are darker in color.

On the other hand, German winemakers can't seem to make up their mind.  Pink wines are identified in Germany as Schillerwein, Württemberg, Rotling and Weissherbst.  

Perhaps the most successful pink wine ever is Mateus Rosé from Portugal.  First made in 1942 at Vila Real, north of the Douro, the off-dry, lightly sparkling Mateus, and Lancers,  became a huge hit in the 1970s in the United States and Britain.  

Finally, a few words on pink wine and food. Lightly chilled rosés are great summer sipping wines and perfect with light al fresco foods, like salads and cold meats.  As a vegetarian, I like how adaptable pink wines are with vegetarian dishes.

 

Next post: LoNo & Natural

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