Tempranillo

Tempranillo
Ripening Tempranillo grapes
Species:	Vitis vinifera
Also called:	(see other names)
Origin:	Spain
Notable regions:	(see major regions)

Tempranillo is a variety of Vitis vinifera, a red grape widely grown in its native Spain and commonly used in winemaking. The grape ripens several weeks earlier than most red varietals, hence its name, which is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano (early).^[1] Tempranillo is often referred to as Spain's "noble grape"^[2] and is the main variety in Rioja wines.

Description

Tempranillo is a thick-skinned black grape used to make full-bodied red wines.^[1] It grows best in cooler regions as it does not tolerate hot or dry weather well. Pests and diseases are a serious problem for this grape variety, since it has little resistance to either. The grape forms compact, cylindrical bunches of spherical, purplish black fruit with a colourless pulp. The fruit is very dark in colour and forms a bead-like sphere for which it also carries the name of Ull de Llebre (Catalan for "Eye of the Hare") in Catalunya, a major Tempranillo-growing region. It is known by many other names, usually after the region in which it is, or has been, grown.

Label showing both Tempranillo name and Ull de Llebre; synonym used in Catalonia.

Other names for Tempranillo

• In Spain:
  • Cencibel (in Castile La Mancha, Madrid, Aragón, Extremadura, Murcia)
  • Tinta del País (in Castile and Leon, Rioja)
  • Tinta Fina (Castile and Leon, Madrid, Valencia, Extremadura, Rioja)
  • Ull de Llebre (in Catalonia)
  • Verdiell or Verdiello (in Catalonia)
  • Tinta de Toro (in Zamora)
  • Tinto de Madrid (in Toledo, Santander, Salamanca, Soria, Valladolid, Madrid)
  • Vid de Aranda (in Burgos)
  • Escobera (in Extremadura)
  • Chinchillana (in Extremadura)
  • Jacivera or Jacibera (in Castile La Mancha)
  • Arauxa or Arauca (in Galicia)
  • Tinto Riojano, Negra de mesa, Negral, Tinto Basto, Tinto Común, Tinto de Aragón, Garnacho fono, Coregón, Listán Negro, Palomino Bravío
  • Valdepeñas (also in California, U.S.A.)

• In Portugal: Tinta Roriz, Aragonêz
• In South America: Escobera, Garnacho, Foño, Jaciuera, Tinta Santiago, Tinta Montereiro^[3]

History

Mature Tempranillo grape cluster with characteristic blue-black coloring

Spanish cultivation of Vitis vinifera, the common ancestor of almost all vines in existence today, began in earnest with Phoenician settlement in the southern provinces. Later, according to the Roman writer Columella, wines were grown all over Spain, yet there are only scattered references to the name "Tempranillo". This is presumably because in many places, like the Valdepeñas region, it was the main indigenous variety and assumed to be a different grape.^[4] One early reference to this grape is found in a verse attributed to the 13th century poet Alejandro, referring to the Ribera del Duero region, in which he mentions the Castilian grapes by name:

"Ally fallaría ommes las bonas cardeniellas
e las otras mejores que son las tempraniellas"

which roughly translates as:

“There, everyone bows to the good cardeniellas
and the other great ones, the tempraniellas"^[5]

Diseased immature Tempranillo grape cluster suffering from oxidization and beginning to dehydrate

Up until the 17th century Tempranillo-type vines remained confined to mainland Spain, where they were best suited to the slightly cooler climate of the northern provinces. Here the Rioja and Valdepeñas regions historically made them their most important variety and they still make up the majority grape of their finest blends.^[2]

The grape was brought to America, possibly as seeds, with the Spanish Conquistadors in the 17th century, where it has largely retained its genetic identity and still strongly resembles its Spanish ancestors.^[6] Due to its high susceptibility to pests and diseases (particularly phylloxera which devastated stocks in the 19th century and still threatens the vines today), Spanish Tempranillo has long been grafted onto more resistant rootstock, resulting in a slightly different grape style to those grown today in Chile and Argentina. Despite its apparent fragility, Tempranillo travelled widely during the last century and, following much trial and error, has become established in a surprising number of countries worldwide.

In 1905, Frederick Bioletti brought Tempranillo to California where it received a cool reception not only due to the encroaching era of Prohibition, but also because of the grape's dislike of hot, dry climates. It was much later, during the 1980s, that Californian Tempranillo-based wine production began to flourish, following the establishment of suitably mountainous sites. Production in this area more than doubled since 1993.^[7]

Tempranillo is currently enjoying a so-called renaissance in wine production worldwide. This surge began partly as a result of the efforts of a 'new wave' of Spanish growers who showed that it was possible to produce wines of great character and quality in areas outside of the Rioja region. One of the results of this has been that Tempranillo varietal wines are becoming more common, especially in the better-suited, cooler Spanish regions like Ribera del Duero, Navarra and Penedès. During the last decade, growers as far-flung as Australia, USA and South Africa have started significant Tempranillo plantations.^[8].

Regional production

Tempranillo vines in Garraf province, Penedès region

Old world production

Tempranillo is native to northern Spain and widely cultivated as far south as La Mancha. The two major regions that grow Tempranillo are Rioja in North Central Spain and Ribera del Duero, which lies a little further to the south. Substantial quantities are also grown in the Penedès, Navarra and Valdepeñas regions. The grape plays a role in the production of wines in two regions of Portugal, central Alentejo and Douro. In Alentejo Central it is known as Aragonêz and used in red table wine blends of variable quality, while in Douro it is known as Tinta Roriz and mainly used in blends to make port wine.

Tempranillo grape clusters on the vine

New World production

The varietal is also extensively grown in Argentina^[9] and Mexico^[2] It was introduced to Urüguay in 1994 by Los Cerros de San Juan Vineyards and Winery, where the first marketable harvest took place in 1999. Fermentation is in American oak barrels.^[10] There are also some plantings in Dominican Republic.^[11]

Tempranillo is also grown in many Australian wine regions including McLaren Vale, the Adelaide Hills and the Geographe Region of Western Australia. There are now over 100 Australian wineries making wine from this variety.

Tempranillo came to California bearing the name Valdepenas and it was grown in the Central Valley at the turn of the century. Since the climate of the Central Valley was not ideal for the grape, it was hard for the varietal to flourish. It was not allowed to reach its true potential and when it was used it was as a blending grape for jug wine.^[1] California has since started to use this varietal again for fine wines. The grape was introduced in Oregon by Earl Jones of Abacela Vineyards and Winery in the Umpqua Valley.^[1] Tempranillo is Abacela's main varietal and it has also been produced in New Mexico, where Tularosa Vineyards was the first winery to label the wine as Tempranillo in 2001.^[12]

Viticulture and uses

A Tempranillo varietal wine in a glass, showing typical intense ruby coloring

The tempranillo root absorbs Potassium easily, which facilitates pH levels of 3.6 in the pulp and 4.3 in the peel when it reaches maturity. When it absorbs too much potassium the must is salified (increased levels of salt) which slows the disappearance of malic acid resulting in a higher pH.^[13] The peel does not present any herbaceous characters.^[13] The grape is very susceptible to inclement weather, contracting when there is a drought and swelling when there is too much humidity. The swelling has a negative effect on quality since it affects the color of the wine. The effects of the weather are attenuated in places with limestone because of the effect of the clay and humidity in the roots; the effects are worse in sandy areas, as well as for vines that are less than twelve years old, as the roots are generally too superficial.^[13]

Often making up as much as 90% of a blend, Tempranillo is less frequently bottled as a single varietal. Being low in both acid level and sugar content, it is most commonly blended with Grenache (known as Garnacha in Spain), Carignan (known as Mazuela in Spain), Graciano, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Blending the grape with Carignan makes a brighter and more acidic wine.^[1] Tempranillo is the major component of the typical Rioja blends and constitutes 90-100% of Ribera del Duero wines.^[1] In Australia, Tempranillo is blended with Grenache and Syrah. In Portugal, where it is known as Tinta Roriz, it is a major grape in the production of some Port wines.^[14]

Tempranillo wines can be consumed young, but are considered at their best when aged, especially in oak barrels. They are lightly coloured and age well in both American and French oak. Tempranillo's aromas and flavors usually combine the elements of berries, plum, tobacco, vanilla, leather and herb.

Until recently it was suspected that Tempranillo was related to the Pinot Noir grape, but recent genetic studies tend to discount this possibility.

Tempranillo in white

In 1988, viticultor Jesús Galilea Esteban, of the vineyard Murillo de Rio Leza in Rioja, Spain, noticed that one of the Tempranillo vines produced a cluster of grapes that had white skin. He removed the cluster and the vine later produced two more. Galilea contacted the Center for Agriculture Investigation and Development (in Spanish, Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario, CIDA) of the Rioja government who planted the cluster in order to study it. It was discovered that this white grape Tempranillo variety is a natural genetic mutation of the red Tempranillo grape due to alterations in the gene that dictates the color of the skin. Environmental factors are presumed responsible for this change.^[15] The white Tempranillo grape reproduces asexually through the one unique sarmentum and multiplication. This allows for identical genes, much like a clone. In fact, the genetic similarity between the red and white variety is of 97.8%.^[16] In 1993, after noticing that there was stability in the mutation and it had not reverted, the plant was reproduced more in order to study its viticultural potential.^[15]

The white grape has a skin that is green-yellow as opposed to the blue-black color of the regular Tempranillo grape. Both grapes share identical leaves, clusters and grape form, as well as the short ripening cycles and sensitivity to pests and diseases. The white tempranillo has a medium yield, medium to high vine vigor and high alcohol content. Although it has many clusters, they are small and of medium weight.^[15]

In the year 2000 the first acre of the white Tempranillo was planted.^[16] In 2005, the product of the white Tempranillo was bottled for the first time. It was fermented in October in stainless steel barrels and aged in oak barrels. The 100% white Tempranillo produced a wine that was between a greenish and hayish color with a tight nose (which later opened a little) and not particularly expressive. The wine has floral and tropical fruit aromas, such as pineapple, which are not too strong. The tasting revealed that it was refreshing, although lacking in acidity. The wine has only been tasted privately but, recently, it has started to be shared with other wineries in Rioja.^[15] The wine has been registered with the State and it is awaiting D.O.C. status authorization,^[16] although a vote to allow white Tempranillo to carry the D.O.C. classification has already been unanimously carried.^[17]

See also

• Spanish wine
• Argentine wine
• Rioja, Spain
• Rioja (wine)

External links

• Grape varieties - Tempranillo
• Tempranillo, Spain's Noble Grape

References

• Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst; Wine Lover's Companion; Barron's; ISBN (paperback, 1995)

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