Grape variety · Red
Tempranillo
Spain's leading red grape: the core of Rioja and Ribera del Duero, and Tinta Roriz in Portugal's port blends.
- Red
- Home: Northern Spain (Rioja / Navarra area)
- Spain, Portugal, Argentina, USA
At a glance
- Also known as
- Tinto Fino
- Tinta del País
- Cencibel
- Ull de Llebre
- Tinta Roriz
- Aragonez
- Colour
- Red
- Origin
- Northern Spain (Rioja / Navarra area)
- Main regions
- Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Toro, La Mancha, Navarra; Portugal's Douro and Alentejo
- Varietal or blend
- Both. Blended with Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo in Rioja; often 100% in Ribera del Duero.
- Body & sweetness
- Medium to full-bodied, dry.
Taste & style
- Flavour
- Cherry, strawberry and plum, tobacco and leather; American oak adds vanilla and coconut.
- Style
- Medium acidity and tannin. Labels like Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva show increasing time in oak and bottle.
In the vineyard & winery
- Growing
- Ripens early — "temprano" means early. Thick-skinned; does best where hot days meet cool nights, as in high Ribera del Duero.
- Winemaking
- Traditionally aged in American oak; many producers now also use French oak.
Food matches
- Roast lamb
- Chorizo and jamón
- Manchego
- Paella with meat
Notes
- In Portugal it is one of the main port grapes.
From the glossary
Fine winegrape used in best quality red wines of Spain. Also known under the alias name of Cencibel in La Mancha.
From the Wine Grape Glossary by Anthony J. Hawkins (1931–2018), reproduced with authorship credit as he requested. Written in the 1990s.