Tempranillo

A few weeks ago I made a discovery of good wine of Catalunya. This is a red wine Coronas which aroma and flavor is a combination of elements of blackberry and strawberry fruits oak and truffles. Its tannins givea fruity, velvety touch of smoke and spices acquired during ageing. This combineation of flavors is a good background for meats like beef or lamb. I have tried this wine with Irish stew with lamb. So it was a good mix of Spanish wine and Irish meal. After that diner I became interested in Tempranillo produced by Torres, because I didn’t know that strain of grapes.

It was a big surprise for me when a read about this grape because I knew another names. Tempranillo is known by other names in certain regions and I tried this kind of wine from South America but wine of Catalunya tastes the best for me.
Tempranillo is a variety of black grape widely grown to make full-bodied red wines. It is the main grape used in Rioja. It’s name is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano ("early"), a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks earlier than other Spanish red grapes. In the last 100 years it has been planted in South America, USA, South Africa, Australia, and Canada.

Tempranillo grapes prefer a cooler climate and have low resistance to many wine diseases and pests. Wines tolerate heat well, but the fruit develops indistinct flavors and undesirable characteristics in warm climates. Tempranillo grapes tend to be low both in overall acidity and sugar, but relatively high in tannin from their thick skins. In favorable climates such as the cool higher elevation of Ribera del Duero, Tempranillo can make wine that is moderate in alcohol, but long-lived.
Tempranillo wines can be consumed young, but the most expensive ones are aged for several years in oak barrels.

Tempranillo is less frequently bottled as a single varietal. Being low in both acidity and sugar content, it is most commonly blended with Grenache (known as Garnacha in Spain), Carignan (known as Mazuela in Spain), Graciano, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Blending the grape with Carignan makes a brighter and more acidic wine. Tempranillo is the major component of the typical Rioja blends and constitutes 90-100% of Ribera del Duero wines. In Australia, Tempranillo is blended with Grenache and Syrah. In Portugal, where it is known as Tinta Roriz, it is a major grape in the production of some Port wines.

So I tried Tempranillo many times but I surely wasn’t aware of that because wine makers used different brand names hiding the real origins of the grapes. The first time I came across the actual Tempranillo name was with Coronas wine from Torres.
The traditional Tempranillo variety is the basis of Coronas, blended with a small proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon.
I recommend this wine. Enjoy!