"Working by Hand" (Winemaking)
- Most common styles
- Still (mostly red, though sometimes made into rosé)
- Winemaker choices and options
- Virtually all winemakers make use of available options (skin contact, malolactic, lees-stirring, choice of fermentation vessel, etc.).
- Aging
- All options used – stainless steel, concrete, oak barrels, vats, barriques, oak alternatives
- Aging potential (yes/no). If “yes,” give range
- Yes. Most are drunk relatively young, but the best bottlings have the potential to age 20+ years
- Presented solo or frequently blended with
- Can be vinified as a mono-variety and there are some great red examples, especially when made with older vines and lower yields. That said, most Tempranillo is used in blended red wines, where it is usually the dominant grape or a choice blending component.
What it does
When classically mixed with its historic cousins, Garnacha, Carignan, and Graciano, Tempranillo is chiefly responsible for the wine’s complexity and pedigree.
Comment
Often making up as much as 90% of a blend, 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 Mazuelo in Spain), and Graciano. Blending the grape with Carignan makes a brighter and more acidic wine. Tempranillo, much like Cabernet Sauvignon in its varietally driven blends, is the most important player on the team. That said, in other global spots, Tempranillo may be blended with other grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (Spain’s Ribera del Duero) and even Malbec (Argentina).
What it does
- Dill, mocha, and vanilla flavors that many identify with Tempranillo come not from the grape but from oak-aging.
- Heavily toasted barrels impart more intense roasted flavors (caramel, molasses, toffee, coffee and burnt sugar).
- Oak bestows a waxy, velvety texture and can add a perceived sweetness to the wine.
- New oak contributes much more flavor than older, previously used oak which, depending on the wine and the grapes, may be a better choice.
- Small (barrique-size) barrel fermentation, at warmer temperatures than those in stainless steel and over shorter increments of time, also imparts a richer and smoother texture to the wine.
Comment
Tempranillo marries well with oak, both French and the stronger American varieties, with the latter preferred among Rioja producers for decades. American oak often has a vanilla almost cola-like nuance or can add one that is more reminiscent of dill/anise. Indeed, oak aging is the most taste-able marker of a Rioja or Ribera del Duero wine’s philosophical leanings. No other classic wine regions are so reliant on long-term aging in oak for unfortified dry wines as these two—particularly Rioja, where 225-liter small oak barrels are almost always the rule, while length of time will vary legally and indeed philosophically.