Open Mike: Tempranillo.

Re: glasses

I use the Riedel Vinum Syrah glass for all important red wines. I am very satisfied with their performance but have never done a side by side comparison with another glass.

This month's Decanter has an article on different glasses for different wines which I will now read.

In reply to Tim`s note on Alion, I saw a `01 Reserva for $89 Cdn. Bl.... expensive.

Ok, I`m up next!!! Would have posted earlier but computer/confuser problems last night here in lumberjack country.

WTN: `02 Alvear Palacio Quemado, Ribera del Guadiana Spain.

Produced by Alvear of Pedro Jimenez fame, a lesser known appellation of no real track record. 100% Tempranillo, natural cork, 13.5% alc. Cost was 21.00 Cdn ( the reserve was listed at $30). Opened for an hour and then decanted.

Color. Pale garnet with not much depth in the centre. Just starting to show a brief hint of orange on the rim.


Nose. Cherry, spice, leather, hint of burnt oak. Not sweet! No vanilla either and not all that aromatic in my books. Interesting study eh. Not much there from my list I posted earlier.

Palate. Initial mouthfeel entry thoughts are chalky tannins, cherry and blackberry. There is quite a transformation in the glass here over 2 hrs. As it airs out, noted dried fruits, so-so acidity, spice and savoury finish that developed some oaky tones I did not rave about! I could not find any sour cherry that others talk about here.
In time, and with more experience, I might think "aagh tempranillo" but not this time around. Spain? yes maybe. I would not buy again and wonder how oaky that Reserve is? Did I like it, agh shrug shoulders!

Food was breaded chicken scallopini with herb butter. Yup, lousy match!

***** pumped overnight, big decline with woody tones dominating finish.

If I may be so bold as to list/sum up here some of the aroma nuances listed here so far, we have.......................................>

Cherry, sweet oak, cassis very much to the forefront (yup, remember some were blends).
Other comments include vanilla, cinnamom, blackberry, sweet berry, spice, coconut, kirsch, sour (cherry), vanilla.

Pretty good so far!! Have I missed anything?!!

BTW interesting to read about Tim`s Alion. Whats the price there these days for the newer releases?

Ok some additions to our list forumites. Add leather and (whisper) burnt oak.

OK you lot, we have not even got started yet!! Lets have some more tasting notes, who`s next? Oh me!!

WTN: `03 Condado de Haza Crianza, Ribera del Duero (Sp).

Sue has posted some excellent notes on the `04 so I just had to open this `03. Natural cork, 100% Tempranillo, $23 Cdn, opened and decanted for one hour. Have some memorable notes from the `01 but worry about apparent bottle variation?

Color. Darkish inky purple w. violet rim. No sign of age yet.

Nose. Pretty subdued at first but took an hour to sing. Blackcurrant, spice, plum and brief hint of cigar box/tobacco pouch. Not all that aromatic.

Palate. Initial entry mouthfeel was dryish, medium bodied w. integrated tannins, (sour) cherry and cassis. Not too savoury thank goodness. Very nice smooth blueberry finish, good fruit balance and harmonious acidity is up there. Excellent mid-palate, fair grip, lots going on here.
After an hour some sweet brambleberry and more herbal w. some licorice too. Not too sure I would pinpoint tempranillo if served blind? Excellent bottle, nothing seems out of place here. Buy again for sure, serve with tapas might be good idea.

I recently put two Tempranillo based wines in our wine club from... the USA!

Check out some notes here:
http://www.corkjoy.com/2007/07/09/enote ... lub-is-in/

Both are from Odisea and one is 100% Tempranillo. After tasting them out to customers, the Temporary Insanity (Tempranillo) was a big hit.

Face it, people who drink wine like this grape

I have never tried it, but I stopped in a a new (to me) wine store yesterday evening on the way back from picking up some marble tile for the new floor, and found a tempranillo that I plan on trying this weekend, between bouts with the tile saw.

Robert, we all look forward to some insight as you renovate!!!

I decided to try a 100% tempranillo this time.

Deep garnet red with a slight fade to the edge.

Toasty oak, bacon, cherry and a hint of blackberry on the nose. The nose was shy at first, but as the oak blew off in about an hour, the fruit was more forthcoming, though not really expressive and oak was still the primary fragrance.

Midpalate showed seductively silky tannins, dark fruit (especially blackberry), and just enough acidity to nicely balance out this medium-bodied wine.

A palate pleasing medium-long finish of fruit and tannic twang tied up this tempranillo with a flourish.

This wine with the generous but well-integrated oak and nice fruit on the palate is definitely more of an international style rioja, in my opinion. It was actually fermented in oak barrels, which accounts for the heavy oak on the nose.

With food: Nice match with grilled rib steak, that brought out the more acidic fruit side of the wine.

Wine: Beronia Rioja 2005 Tempranillo Elaboracion Especial 14% abv. It appears to be unfiltered. 17.75 $CAN

Tom, where do you think this might go after the oak influence has diminished?
Beronia is tough to find up here!

Hi Bob,

That is a good question. I think this wine has enough structure to age for another 2-3 years, but it strikes me as a good drink now wine. I think it will get a little better and develop some secondary characteristics like leather with more time but I think it will also gradually lose its fruit. Please note that I am not the best at predicting aging potential.

This wine is part of the newest LCBO release that features Spanish wines. There appears to be at least a case in our store. Would you like me to buy some for you?

Thanks for the quick reply Tom. I do not think I will be heading your way anytime soon but thanks for the offer. I know the rep from Beronia so will give him a jingle!

ERCAVIO TEMPRANILLO « ROBLE » 2005 - Viños de la Tierra de Castilla – 100% Cencibel (the local name for Tempranillo) – 13.5% alc. – EUR 8,59 – estate address at Dos Barrios, Toledo.

Here is a 100% Tempranillo from the hot, arid plateau south of Madrid. Victor had commended this estate in one of his posts.

C : Very deep with purple rim. N: Quite subdued at first with molasses as the dominant aroma with some dark red fruit in the background; one hour+ later the empty bottle is giving off a more balanced and integrated aroma. P: Quite rich, velvety and long but very little fruit, acidity and tannin in evidence; again molasses and caramel are the dominant flavours particularly towards the finish.

I did not like this wine on its showing tonight. My impression was quite different at a tasting in March. I liked it a lot then and noted cherry brandy notes, burgeoning fruit, neither of which I got tonight, and good richness and length; the caramel notes were then in the background. Can a mere five months have made such a difference or was my critical faculty suspended back then by the charming and competent presence of Alexandra Schmedes, one of the partners at the estate.


On that occasion I also tasted and enjoyed the following from this estate. Here are my succinct manuscript notes–

ERCAVIO TEMPRANILLO CABERNET (80/20) 2005 – Softly fruity.

ERCAVIO “Limited Reserva” 2003 (90% T, 10% Merlot) – Similar to Roble but Merlot’s softening influence apparent.

ERCAVIO “La Meseta” 2003 (50% T, 50% Syrah) – Similar to previous with more spice and backbone.

LA PLAZUELA 2004 (80% T “Cencibel”, 20% Garnacha) – Deep and concentrated with good complexity and length and wood well integrated. This one was several notches above the others as was its price (EUR 45,38).

If a bottle of 2005 Ercavio shows no fruit in August 2007, the answer almost certainly is: that bottle's been cooked.

Hi Tim, came across an `04 Ercavio Tempranillo Roble, Mas Que Vinos. The only Ercavio around these parts I believe. Sitting on kitchen countertop as I write!

Just had a Pesquera Crianza 2000 - nice, elegant bottle, good balance. No powerhouse though. Still, it went well with the steak and the bottle proved to be too small, always a good sign... Typical tempranillo characteristics? Not really, Tempranillo isn't really in the aromatics IMO. And I drink so much of the stuff anyway that it has almost become a standard.

There has recently been quite a discussioin here about tempranillos aromatics. I started putting a list together of what to look out for and hopefully more TNs in the line up!

Re: Ercavio-

looking forward to your impressions, Bob.

Should be coming up soon!...um, have to polish off a couple of chardonnays (gasp).

SEÑORIO DE P. PECIÑA RIOJA D.O.C.

Gert brought over these bottles last night. The estate, which is completely new to me, uses traditional methods; reds comprise 95% Tempranillo plus Garnacha and Graciano for the balance and all barrels used in ageing have previously seen at least one wine. The winemaker comes from La Rioja Alta, which is quite a recommendation for admirers of that style, like me. Here is a link to a fact sheet in Spanish - http://www.canvinate.com/catalogo/ficha ... ecinya.htm and here are my notes.


CRIANZA 2000 (aged in the wood for 2 years)

C: Attractive ruby red of medium depth. N: This could only be Rioja and Tempranillo; well developed bouquet of, first, sour cherry with, soon, red plum coming up on a background of discreet vanilla. P: A harmonious, round, medium weight palate with good vibrant fruit, refreshing acidity, aromas similar to the nose and good mouth-fill, structure and length. Not, perhaps, a wine for lovers of burgeoning up-front fruit with strong extraction and new wood but just the sort which I am looking for. We had great difficulty in not finishing the bottle but there was more to come.


RESERVA 1999 (aged in the wood for 3 years)

C: Slightly deeper. N: More subdued but deeper and more complex; this time the predominant notes were kirsch and cigar box. P: There was naturally a strong family resemblance to the Crianza with similar vibrant fruit and acidity but the impression was more discreet and at the same time more velvety, deeper, more integrated and perhaps longer. This time we finished the bottle! I guess that this will be even better in 5+ years time whereas the Crianza may be at its peak now but with potential to hold there for some time.

Gert says that the 1998 Gran Reserva is even better.

I am quite excited about these harmonious and elegant yet vibrant Riojas and hope that Gert decides to import them. The QPR should be good too (approx 11 to 14 EUR).

(Not relevant to Tempranillo but there was also a white Rioja from this estate (2006, I think) which was tasty and refreshing but more one dimensional than these two reds and we finished off with some absolutely delicious Madeira – Justino Henriques Sercial 1940. I was no longer feeling very analytical by then so there is no detailed note but about half the bottle is left for another day.)

No tasting notes, but this:
Contessa de Leganza 2002 Crianza. Pretty good, for my first Tempranillo. I like it.

Tim, the Pecina bodegas is a new name to me so I did a google. Found a cool tasting note where the author describes the colour of a crianza as "menisco roofing tile". Gonna remember that for the future!

Re: Menisco tile

This is a real gem, Bob, and could win a prize for the most weirdly abstruse wine descriptor of all time.

The word does not exist in either the Collins or Concise Oxford English dictionaries but "meniscus" does; it is derived from a Greek word meaning crescent and one of its uses is to describe lenses concave or one side and convex on the other. I did a quick Google on "menisco" and came up with Spanish and Italian references to part of the knee (presumably crescent shaped) and also a English medical site reference to a Menisco-femoral ligament in the knee.

So it is presumably a crescent or knee shaped tile but what is its colour?

It's not an abstruse desciptor. It's one of those incompetent automatic internet translating softwares. In Spanish, 'menisco' is, among other things, the edge of the surface of wine in a glass - where wine curves upward as it meets the glass. The original wording in Spanish was probably 'menisco teja' - i.e. "brick-hued rim", but after going through a Google translator that was the result.