How to pour
a tempranillo in
Place the bottle in the refrigerator for half an hour before opening it. A room temperature of around twenty degrees is too warm for this wine; at 16 to 18 degrees, the fruit stays at the forefront and the alcohol does not overpower it. An older gran reserva can be served at the upper end of that range.
Cut all the way around the capsule just below the ridge on the neck and wipe the rim clean. Position the spiral in the center of the cork, turn it straight down, and gently pull the cork out. With an older bottle, the cork crumbles more easily, so drive the spiral slightly deeper.
A young tempranillo with firm tannins benefits from half an hour in a decanter. A gran reserva that has spent years in the bottle should be left alone: pour it straight from the bottle and leave the sediment behind in the shoulder of the neck.
Pour until the glass is about one-third full. This leaves room to swirl the wine, and that contact with air is exactly what brings the vanilla and coconut from the barrel to the fore in tempranillo. It’s better to top up with a small amount more often than to fill the glass in one go.
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The story
Tempranillo is found throughout Spain and has a different name almost everywhere. In Rioja it keeps its own name; in Ribera del Duero it is called tinto fino or tinta del país, in Toro tinta de toro and in La Mancha cencibel. Across the border in Portugal, the same grape is known as tinta roriz in the Douro and aragonez in the Alentejo. Those names reflect custom and region, not quality. What the grape shares everywhere is that it ripens early and does not naturally bring much acidity or tannin, so producers shape the wine mainly through barrel and bottle ageing.
The right glass
Tempranillo calls for a glass with a tall, slightly tapered bowl of roughly 45 cl or more. The fruit and oak aromas need air to open up, and a bowl that narrows towards the top channels those aromas towards your nose instead of letting them disperse. A glass sold as a tempranillo glass or Rioja glass is not part of the range; the tall bowls among the red wine glasses come closest. If the bottle will not be finished for a few days, also take a look at the wine stoppers.
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The right tools
For a tempranillo, besides the glass, you mainly need a corkscrew and, for a young bottle, a decanter. The bar tools below only come into play when the bottle goes into a sangria or a tinto de verano: a bar spoon for stirring and a jigger for measuring. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 59,85.
What do you pour alongside it?
A bottle of tempranillo rarely stands alone on the table. These are the wines that come before, alongside or after it, from a glass of cava to start to a moscato with dessert. On each drinks page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it works in and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
The four designations on the label form a ladder. Joven is young and has seen little or no barrel aging, crianza is aged for at least two years in total before being released, reserva for three years, and gran reserva for five years, with part of that time in oak barrel and the rest in bottle each time. The exact minimum periods vary by DO, so the designation mainly tells you about the progression and how much barrel and bottle aging you will find in the glass. The higher up the ladder, the more pronounced the vanilla, coconut, tobacco, and leather become, while the fresh fruit softens. Want to read more? View all drinks and brands.
Serving tip
Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and do not place the bottle next to the oven or fireplace. Lamb is the classic choice with a barrel-aged tempranillo, from roasted leg of lamb to a grilled chop: the lamb's fat and the wine's tannins balance each other. Chorizo does the same with its paprika and spiciness, and an aged sheep's cheese works just as well.
Good to know
What joven, crianza, reserva, and gran reserva mean
These are aging designations, not judgments of flavor. Joven is released young and has spent little or no time in oak. Crianza, reserva, and gran reserva are aged for at least two, three, and five years in total before they may be released, with a fixed portion in barrel and the rest in bottle. The exact periods are set by each DO and may be stricter than the Spanish minimum, so read them as a progression rather than an exact recipe.
Why this says more in Spain than elsewhere
In many wine-producing countries, the winemaker decides when a wine leaves the cellar, and this is not stated on the label. In Spain, however, this aging is defined and given its own term on the label. As a result, with a Spanish bottle you can roughly tell in advance how much barrel and bottle aging it has had, which predicts the flavor better than the grape alone.
American oak versus French oak
Much Spanish tempranillo is aged in American oak barrels. This wood imparts pronounced vanilla, coconut, and sometimes dill, which is the character many people recognize as typically Spanish. French oak gives more spice and a tighter structure. More and more producers blend the two or use only French oak, so a crianza from one winery can taste very different from one from the next.
Where else tempranillo is grown
Rioja and Ribera del Duero are the best known, but the grape is also grown in Toro, where it is called tinta de toro and the wines are more powerful and robust, and in La Mancha and Valdepeñas under the name cencibel. In Portugal it is tinta roriz in the Douro and aragonez in the Alentejo, where it also goes into port wine.
How much alcohol it contains
A Spanish tempranillo usually falls roughly between 13 and 14.5 percent alcohol. Wines from warmer regions and higher aging categories tend toward the upper end of that range, while lighter young wines fall below it. The exact percentage is always stated on the label.
Frequently asked questions
What do joven, crianza, reserva, and gran reserva mean?
These terms indicate how long the wine has aged in barrels and in the bottle before being released for sale. Joven is young and has seen little or no oak. Crianza, reserva, and gran reserva age for a total of at least two, three, and five years respectively, with a fixed portion of that time in oak. The exact periods are set by each DO and may be stricter.
What does tempranillo taste like?
When young, you mainly taste cherry and plum, with soft tannins and not much acidity. If it has seen oak, vanilla and coconut are added, especially with American oak. If the wine spends longer aging in the bottle, tobacco and leather become recognizable, while the fresh fruit becomes softer and darker.
At what temperature and in which glass do you serve tempranillo?
Between 16 and 18 degrees, in a tall glass holding roughly 45 cl or more. Room temperature in a modern home is quickly twenty degrees or higher, which makes the alcohol overpowering. Half an hour in the fridge brings the bottle to exactly the right point.
What do you eat with tempranillo?
Lamb is the classic pairing, roasted or grilled, because the lamb's fat softens the wine's tannins. Chorizo works for the same reason, with its paprika and fat. Grilled beef, stewed beans with sausage, and aged sheep's cheese also pair well.
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