Wine Focus January 2023 - Benchmarks of Tempranillo

[David M. Bueker]

Let's get 2023 going with our first monthly Wine Focus. As mentioned in the introductory post ( viewtopic.php?f=3&t=67742 ) we will be exploring benchmarks, old and new, for twelve different grapes this year.

We're starting off with Tempranillo. It's an interesting case from a benchmark standpoint, as some of the reference standard wines are not just Tempranillo. The Rioja wines of Lopez de Heredia incorporate Grenache, Graciano, and Mazuelo. The legendary Vega Sicilia 'Unico' from Ribera del Duero incorpoates a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (Gasp!) with over 95% of the wine coming from Tempranillo.

Tempranillo is interesting for another reason - some of the benchmark wines have not escalated in price as much as the wines from other grapes. Unico is now quite pricey, but classic Rioja wines can still be obtained for under $50, or even lower with careful shopping. There was actually a recent online retailer offering of the Lopez de Heredia Tondonia Gran Reserva for under $40, and their "entry level" Vina Cubillo is still under $20 with careful shopping.

One more thing to note is that Tempranillo has not made much of a global splash. There's no "new benchmark" region such as Napa for Cabernet. Producers in other regions have made some initial forays with the grape, but there is no widespread effort to produce new world Tempranillo. That said our very own Steve Edmunds is working with Tempranillo from the amazing Shake Ridge Ranch as part of the blend for his newest blend, El Jaleo.

Getting back to the focus for 2023, we will be looking at the historic benchmarks (anybody want to post a note on a bottle of Unico?), as well as seeking out less expensive alternatives that emulate the virtues of the benchmark wines. Finally, are there wines from places outside of the benchmark regions (in this case Rioja and Ribera del Duero) that are either emulating the originals, or perhaps taking the grape in a new, exciting direction.

Here's to 2023, and twelve more months of Wine Focus!

[David M. Bueker]

Checking out a new Shake Ridge Ranch Tempranillo bottling to start the month.

2020 Orixe Sotelo Tempranillo Sierra de Oro Shake Ridge Ranch - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County (1/4/2023)
Pop and pour, though this needed an hour to open up. In the office days are not conducive to advance decanting. Surprisingly translucent red color - not at all the typical California purple. The aromatics showed quite a lot of oak (French btw) at first, but as the wine aired the red fruit, warm herbs and earthy tones came through. What struck me after about ninety minutes was the clear Shake Ridge vineyard signature. I was distinctly reminded of wines from D&R, ESJ, Enfield, etc. that came from the same site, and had a similar cohesive aromatic/palate presence. Given the largely transparent winemaking of most of them it had to be the site coming through, especially as all the wines were from different varietal blends. Pretty astounding. As for this wine, it has more than enough primary character to spend a few years in the cellar to allow the oak to absorb. I will hold off on opening another for three or four years.

[Jenise]

Many years back now, after 1) reading that of all things an Idaho tempranillo had won the top prize at Seattle's best wine competition and 2) seeing an identical rave from Hoke Harden, I got my hands on that wine. I, too, swooned. Then I put it into a blind tasting with two Washington tempranillos and three Spanish ones, two of which were a CVNE Imperial and a Vina Real. #1 for me and all the people attending was that Idaho wine. It was radiant, spectacularly so, with bright acidity and out of this world complexity. IIRC the wine was a 2014. If that feat could be reproduced in nearly every vintage and if there were enough to distribute widely, that wine would be the gamechanger that could challenge Rioja.

Quite a few tempranillos are made here in Washington. Our prize vigneron Christophe Baron has embraced it in the Cayuse lignup under the No Girls label. A Spaniard-married-Washington-girl-now vigneron is getting good reviews for his label, Pomum. He planted his vineyard with cuttings brought back from favorite vineyards and regions in Spain in order to avoid the cookie-cutter, if they're that, varieties peddled by UC Davis. And Washington's hottest new vineyard/winery, Weathereye, has just released their first vintage of big red wines grown in an unusual way in an unusual higher elevation wind-swept location, the kind that 20 years ago no one would have looked twice at because it so defies the CW for optimal vineyard space. The new releases include syrah and grenache, but what's getting the most buzz? Their tempranillo. Stupid me, I bought the other two.

Anyway, point is the grape is really getting some traction up here. We, and Idaho!, might become the benchmark for new world tempranillo. I'm not sure anyone else is even in the running.

[David M. Bueker]

That's really cool.

I will be opening a couple of Spanish bottles in the next couple of days. Question is whether I will dig our any of the Gran Reserva big guns.

[Jenise]

So after I talked about all that traction, I went to the local Food Co-op yesterday and checked out the wines. They're a keen supporter of local as well as interesting imports, and it should have been the right place to find a good local tempranillo.

There weren't any.

[David M. Bueker]

Checking in on a recent vintage from one of the traditionalists.

2011 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Bosconia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (1/8/2023)
Tasted over the course of four hours, this didn’t change that much. Certainly youthful (this was a test bottle from a recent purchase of six), it did show good balance and supple red fruit. Traces of herbal and leather notes were present, but clearly this needs cellar time to pick up some further complexity. I was happy that the oak was not so dominant as has been the case in some recent vintage Tondonia bottlings. My remaining bottles of this will be buried for several years.

[Jenise]

Well look what you drank on Sunday, David. Didn't realize you had, and guess what I opened last night (to go with tomato-cheese pasta, see RCP in the food group--killer dish)?

Yup.

2011 Lopez de Heredia Bosconia
Believe it or not, my first ever Bosconia. I've had Cubillos and Tondonias many times, but somehow never got my hands on the Bosconia until a few months ago. This was my first bottle. Did think it needed close to an hour to pop the fruit over the American oak but otherwise not much to add to what you said.

Btw, at a supermarket yesterday I looked for a Washington tempranillo. Again, no luck. I know they're made here and very very well but apparently there's a belief that customers don't seek out the grape. All they had were the usual suspects cheaper Spanish wines.

[Jenise]

Speaking of Bosconia, when I went to deduct this from inventory I noticed that the oldest vintage of this wine on CT is 1942!!! There are four notes, and the oldest one from 2006 mentions that his bottle was released by the winery only the year before. Boy would I love to have one of those!

[David M. Bueker]

Speaking of Bosconia, when I went to deduct this from inventory I noticed that the oldest vintage of this wine on CT is 1942!!! There are four notes, and the oldest one from 2006 mentions that his bottle was released by the winery only the year before. Boy would I love to have one of those!

Those old LdH Gran Reserva wines can be magical. They used to even be affordable. I still have a couple from the 1980s/1990s, but no more.

David's introductory note says most of what I too feel about Tempranillo. My experience of the grape is entirely Spanish, 90% of which is Rioja. I would have great difficulty in distinguishing between Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Toro, especially when producer style is a big variable. However, one nearly ubiquitous feature is vanilla, coconut and sometimes caramel notes contributed by the élevage, so it is hard to know how Tempranillo dominated blends taste when not so garnished.

Here is a very good example of young Rioja aged "100% in semi-new French oak barrels". That is low oak presence for Rioja but its imprint is definitely there.

2019 Bodegas Roda Rioja Sela - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja (22/01/2023)
Having tasted a range of youngish Roda wines some 10+ years ago and finding that some superb potential was obscured at that stage by oak presence, I approached this Sela cuvée (94% Tempranillo and the rest Graciano and Garnacha) with some trepidation. The Roda website says that this wine is designed to be approachable upon release and I must say that IMO they have been entirely successful. There is some lovely and quite complex fruit presence on both nose and palate with no essence particularly noticeable but with sweet cherry, plum and bramble just detectable. There is good depth, velvety texture, discreet but moreish acidity and gentle tannic structure supporting good length. There are enough hints of vanilla and coconut from its élevage for the wine to bear the imprint of Rioja but with a discretion which I have only previously found in 10++ year old examples. Very good.
Posted from CellarTracker

[Jenise]

So last week we did a comparison, side by side, of a very new world Washington producer and a very old school one, CVNE. No contest, of course.


2010 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Imperial Reserva Tempranillo
Last tried two years ago. Getting into the peak zone for excellent secondary development but has the goods to slide into tertiary territory and show well for the next 10-15 years.

2017 Saviah Cellars Tempranillo Walla Walla Valley
Impressive evolution since purchased two years ago. Then a barely medium bodied wine, it's on the full side now with lavish dark red fruits. Too much vanilla and lactic flavors to compete with Rioja, the godfather of all tempranillos, but as a well-made new world red wine it goes down real nice.

[David M. Bueker]

Apparently not a popular grape choice for January...

[Jenise]

Nope. I got three, though! Do I get a prize?