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Wine Details
Price:
$30.00 per bottle
Description:
The mainstay of Rioja and a host of other Spanish reds, TEMPRANILLO is a versatile grape which is equally well used to making juicy young strawberryish reds as well as more serious, oak-aged reds with a veneer of vanilla, liquorice and tobacco spice characters overlaying the strawberry flavors. Like SANGIOVESE, it can be very savoury, a quality often defined as tobacco leaf, and it becomes leathery with age.
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Varietal Definition
Tempranillo:
The Tempranillo is to Rioja what Pinot Noir is to Burgundy. By far Spain's most noble indigenous grape it has similar characteristics to the Pinot - strawberries when young, earthy vegetal when mature - and it ages very well. It ripens early ('temprana' is the Spanish for 'early') is thick-skinned and gives good colour and extract but low alcohol and acidity. In Rioja it is blended with the more fiery Garnacha and a little Mazuelo and Graciano. It is grown throughout Spain but very much as a grape for blending as opposed to a straight varietal. Outside Spain the grape is quite prolific in Argentina and to a lesser extent in California.
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Sangiovese:
Sanguis Jovis, the Latin origin for the varietal name, literally means “blood of Jove.” Sangiovese is one of the oldest known varietals and it is likely that ancient Etruscan winemakers cultivated it, although the first literary reference to Sangiovese was in 1722. Sangiovese is probably indigenous to Tuscany, whose most famous wine is Chianti. Chianti is a blend that currently contains a minimum of 90% Sangiovese.Sangiovese thrives in hot dry climates. Because these climatic criteria generally enhance quantity, rather than quality, it takes careful cultivation and winemaking techniques to produce really excellent wine from this grape.
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