Thursday 11th November marks International Tempranillo Day. For us this is a great day to deep dive into one of our under-the-radar, wines – Tempranillo.
This variety is often referred to as ‘temp’ due to it being a tricky one to pronounce. To make it roll off the tongue, just skip the ‘Ls’ so it comes out as tem-pra-nee-yo.
Tempranillo is famous for its versatility whether enjoyed on its own or blended with other varieties, it stays distinct, as we have done in our Il Minestrone.
Origins
Temprano, meaning ‘early’ in Spanish, refers to the thick skinned, black grape that ripens earlier than most Spanish grapes.
While it is still an emerging variety here across Australia, the history books trace it back to the Spanish region of Rioja where they have been enjoying Tempranillo for over 2,000 years. It is also common in the Iberian Peninsula in Spain where it survives hot temperatures and drought.
It can tolerate both warm and cool climates and does exceptionally well with the heat of the Barossa. The benefit of being an early ripening grape is that it misses most of the dry heat that we have at the end of summer.
Our Tempranillo is sourced from a small patch in the Vine Vale subregion, in the Eastern foothills of the Barossa. Here, cooler air rolls down off the Eastern ranges and gently moderates temperatures.
Taste
Tempranillo is traditionally full of red fruit flavours – think spicy blackberry, black cherry, plum and raspberry, along with vanilla and cloves. Our Discovery Road by Gibson Tempranillo gears towards the stone fruits of plum and black cherry with hints of dark chocolate and subtle savoury herb characters.
This variety brings a medium-bodied flavour with moderate alcohol style and medium tannins.
Cellaring
Our 2019 Discovery Road Tempranillo suits is in a great drinking window now, and will be so for the next five years.
Pairing
Due to its versatility, Tempranillo wines are among the easiest to pair with food. Keeping with the Spanish theme think tapas, patatas bravas, or paella. Try it also with Mexican food including nachos, tacos or Chile relleno.
Discovery Road by Gibson 2019 Tempranillo can be found here.
