Tempranillo

What it tastes like

Start with sweet red cherries, red plums and a few strawberries: that is young Tempranillo, smooth, fruity and quietly savoury. Oak changes the picture. Rioja’s traditional American oak leaves sweet hints of vanilla and coconut; French oak is quieter, with a little spice and toast. After years in barrel and bottle, dried fruit, leather and tobacco leaf take over from fresh fruit.

Place matters too: Ribera del Duero and Toro often turn out darker, sturdier reds than Rioja.

How it feels

Dry and medium to full in weight, with moderate freshness. The tannin, that drying feel of strong black tea, ranges from moderate in a young Rioja to firm in a young Ribera or Toro, and time in oak and bottle makes it silkier. Nothing too sharp, nothing too heavy: that balance is why it suits so many dishes.

Where it grows

Tempranillo grows across most of Spain, often under a local name. Rioja relies on it, and so does Ribera del Duero, where locals know it as Tinta del País or Tinto Fino. In Toro it becomes Tinta de Toro, in La Mancha and Valdepeñas Cencibel, and in Catalonia Ull de Llebre, “hare’s eye”. It is also planted in Valencia, in DO Valencia and DO Utiel-Requena (a DO is an official wine region). The name is a clue: temprano means “early”, and this grape ripens sooner than many other Spanish reds.

Portugal knows it as Tinta Roriz in the Douro and Aragonez in the Alentejo, and there are smaller plantings in Argentina, Australia and the United States.

At the table

Tempranillo is a flexible red, at home with roasts, cured meats and cheese.

• Roast lamb, or Rioja-style lamb chops grilled over vine cuttings
• Jamón and a well-aged Manchego cheese
• Roast chicken, mushrooms and lentil stews
• Arròs al forn (oven-baked rice with pork, morcilla and chickpeas), with a Crianza that is not too oaky
• Paella valenciana (rice with chicken, rabbit, flat green beans and garrofó butter beans), with a young, unoaked bottle served cool; heavy oak flattens the saffron

Strongly oaked versions overpower delicate fish and light salads.

Good to know

• Serve it at about 14–18 °C: the cooler end (14–15 °C) for young wines, the warmer end (16–18 °C) for a Crianza or Reserva.
• Ageing words say how long a wine matured before leaving the cellar: joven (young, little or no oak), then Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva, each aged longer than the last. Rules vary by DO, and they promise time, not a particular quality.
• In Rioja it often shares the bottle with Garnacha, Mazuelo or Graciano, not always named on the label.
• Bottles vary from bright and fruity to deeply oaky, so treat these notes as a starting point.