do you know the Tempranillo red wine? The Tempranillo red wine is one of the most common wines that often accompanies our table, but very little is known about this wonderful wine.
The Tempranillo red wine has its own personality and a characteristic flavor that makes it an excellent companion of pleasant moments and worth keeping forever.
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what is Tempranillo Red Wine?
Tempranillo red wine is considered a medium-bodied wine made from the Tempranillo red grape variety, which gives it its characteristic color.
Origin and History of Tempranillo Red Wine
The Tempranillo grape variety, which gives origin to the red wines that bear its name, was cultivated by the Phoenicians who settled in the south of the Iberian Peninsula.
Until the 17th century Tempranillo vines remained limited to mainland Spain, where they were more suited to the slightly cooler climate of the northern provinces.
Reasons why regions such as La Rioja and Valdepeñas made Tempranillo their most important variety, being still today the main grape of their most outstanding wines.
With the arrival of the plague and phylloxera that devastated the vines in the 19th century, Tempranillo was grafted on other soils, which led it to become a beloved and valued grape variety outside Spanish lands.
Countries such as Spain, Portugal, the United States and Australia are a guarantee of quality Tempranillo wine thanks to the characteristics of their soils and the temperature oscillations between night and day that are necessary for this type of grape.
Characteristics of Tempranillo red wine
Tempranillo red wine has its own character and its attributes vary according to the types and appellations where it is produced.
- It is made from the Tempranillo grape from which it takes its name
- It has medium acidity, an aspect that makes it an ideal accompaniment for almost any type of food.
- Young wines are characterized by their freshness
- Wines aged in oak are wines with character
- Tempranillo of Spanish origin is characterized by a leathery flavor mixed with cherry, leaving a smooth texture that lingers on the palate for a long time
- Tempranillo produced in the United States has a typical cherry flavor, with strong notes of tomato. Its peculiarity is that it has a greater presence of tannins, which makes it a more astringent wine.
Color, flavor and aroma of Verdejo wine
Tempranillo wine is a red wine with its own character that gives it its own personality and makes it stand out.
- Appearance: Intense red color of marked intensity, with violet hues when young and evolving to russet with age.
- Nose: Marked aromas dominated by ripe red fruit such as plums and currants, with aromas of cherries, raspberries, wild berries and a slight scent of freshly cut grass, complemented by cocoa, coffee and tobacco.
- Palate: Flavors evoke wild berries and strawberries. It has a frank palate, with a friendly entry, discreet, silky, fine, with acidity, soft and fine tannins. Pleasant when young and velvety when aged.
Alcohol Content of Tempranillo Red Wine
The Tempranillo red wine is a pleasant wine with its own flavor that makes it characteristic. It has a low alcohol content that ranges between 11°C and 14°C.
Types of Tempranillo Red Wine
The types of Tempranillo red wine depend on the maturity of the grape and the production processes to which it is subjected. This gives rise to very versatile wines and varieties such as the following:
Young wines
Young wines are those with less than two years of aging which should be drunk quickly so that they do not lose their essential characteristics.
Crianza Wines
These are wines that are aged in French or American oak barrels, which make them wines with a lot of character.
Reserva
These are wines that have been aged for at least 3 years.
Gran Reserva
Wines that are aged for more than five years.
Red Tempranillo Wine Pairing
Tempranillo red wine is a very versatile wine thanks to the characteristics of the grape from which it is made, making it an ideal accompaniment for almost any type of food.
- Red meat: It is a perfect companion to accompany dishes made with grilled or roasted meats
- Pork: Brings out the flavors of roast pork
- Lamb: A good companion especially with dishes made with roast lamb
- Pasta: Especially with those accompanied by light sauces
- River fish: Delicious combination that enhances the flavors
- Sausages: Ideal accompaniment to any type of sausage, especially Iberian cured meats
- Cheeses: Especially with soft cheeses as it balances their flavors
- Rice: Especially with those with medium intensity flavors
how is Tempranillo Red Wine made?
The quality of Tempranillo red wine is given mainly by the land where the vines from which it is made are grown. Its wines are made with Tempranillo grapes, which are also responsible for its characteristic flavor.
Once in the winery, the grapes are destemmed, the skins are macerated for 3 days together with the must to extract all the aromatic potential of the grapes. Subsequently, the must is fermented in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 26ºC.
The crianza, reserva and gran reserva wines are made with maceration and alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts.
Malolactic fermentation and aging are carried out in barrels of different origins and different capacities for several months depending on the type.
Characteristics of the Tempranillo grape
The Tempranillo variety is one of the most important autochthonous grape varieties in Spain and has even spread to other countries.
- Large bunches with medium sized stalks and little lignification
- Medium to large sized berries with a blackish black skin
- Non-pigmented, soft, very juicy and fleshy pulp
- Vines of high vigor and very upright growth habit
- Tempranillo is a short cycle variety with budding in the middle season and early ripening
- It has good fertility and high production, which is usually regular
- Variety very sensitive to wood diseases, especially eutypiosis and tinder complex
- Not very sensitive to spring cold weather as budbreak is delayed in this case
- Tolerates drought well unless it is very extreme
Tempranillo Red Wine Temperature
Tempranillo red wine is a wine of great structure and its own identity. It is recommended to be served at a temperature between 14°C and 16°C, a temperature that allows it to fully expose its great personality.
Price and best brands of Tempranillo Red Wine
The Tempranillo red wine is a very pleasant wine that every day gains more space in the taste of lovers of good wine, its aroma and charming flavor make it attractive, its price ranges between 5 euros and 50 euros.
El Coto Crianza 2015
A bright cherry red wine of medium layer, with aromas of red fruit, vanilla that make it silky on the palate with persistent spicy notes 6,50 €.
Izadi Crianza 2016
A ruby-red colored red in which its fruity aromas, red fruit, spicy notes, cedar wood and smoky notes stand out, making it an elegant, balanced and long wine 9,30 €.
Barón de Ley Reserva 2014 (Magnum)
Campo Viejo Tempranillo
Milflores Tinto 2018
A young red wine bright cherry red color with intense fruity aromas, in which red fruits such as raspberry stand out, making it fresh and ample in the mouth gentle tannins and enveloping finish 5,75 €.
Roda I 2013
A ripe cherry red wine with purple trim, the nose is presented as a deep broth with fruity aromas in which plum and chocolate stand out, when in contact with the palate we can appreciate a voluminous, complex and enveloping wine 40 €.
