Tempranillo

About Tempranillo

Tempranillo is now the most common grape in Spain. Covering over 202k hectares - about one-fifth of all Spain’s vineyards - it has recently displaced the white grape Airén (200k hectares) as Spain’s most widely planted grape.

The name Tempranillo comes from the Spanish word temprano, which means "early". That’s because Tempranillo ripens early and has a shorter growing cycle than many other grapes.

It’s a grape with low acidity and relatively low natural sugars. The low acidity means it suits cooler climates, but because of the low sugars it also needs warm weather to get the grapes to ripen and boost that sugar content. So, regions like Ribera del Duero and Rioja are perfect places for Tempranillo.

That’s because those regions have a broad temperature difference, with hot days and cooler evenings in the summer months. That’s especially true in the higher altitude spots, where the differences are even more extreme.

Where is Tempranillo found?

It’s not surprising then that Tempranillo is a mainstay of the wines produced in those two denominaciones. Although it’s worth noting that in Ribera del Duero, they call it Tinta del País, so you may not always see the name Tempranillo on the label.

Away from Rioja and Ribera del Duero, you’ll also find Tempranillo growing in other parts of Spain often with different names. So, in the Penedés region of central Catalunya you’ll find it called Ull de Llebre and in central Spain it goes by the name Cencibel.

What do Tempranillo wines taste like?

Because of its lower sugar levels and early ripening, wines made from Tempranillo don’t tend to be too high in alcohol, which makes them relatively easy to drink and to pair with different foods – another reason for its popularity.

The grape doesn’t have hugely defined flavours. Wines made from Tempranillo often have aromas like strawberries and other red fruits, and you can often detect spice, leather and tobacco leaves. But the end result is as much down to the skill of the winemaker as it is to the grape variety itself. So, you’ll often find Tempranillo blended with other varieties, such as Garnacha or Carignan to give it a bit more character.

Ageing Tempranillo

Another common way to give this wine a bit more personality is to barrel age it. Unlike some other grapes, Tempranillo combines well with oak and its flavour characteristics really help to enhance the wine. So it’s a grape that’s often used in wines designed for ageing.

In Rioja particularly, you’ll find a more dedicated focus on ageing wine than you might in other parts of Spain. There they have their own criteria for determining the age classification of wine. Normally, for Spanish wine to be called Crianza it has to have spent 24 months ageing of which at least 6 months have to have been in the barrel. Whereas in Rioja the wine must have spent at least 12 of those 24 months in the barrel. Rules nationwide for Reservas are simpler: 36 months of ageing, of which 12 should be in the barrel. But things change again for Gran Reservas. There the standard is 5 years ageing with at least 18 months in the barrel. But Rioja insist on a minimum of 2 years barrel ageing and 3 in the bottle before the wine is released.

We talk about this in more detail in a separate article on ageing wine. The main point is that Tempranillo is a fantastic way into the world of Spanish wine. It’s a very adaptable grape, which is one of the reasons Spanish winemakers love it, and there’s a style out there to suit everyone. No wonder it's one of Spain’s, and the world’s, favourite grapes.

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Airén

At just over 200,000 hectares (or 21% of total vines planted) Airén is Spain’s most widely grown white grape and second only to Tempranillo at 203,000 hectares.

Albariño

Albariño is a white wine grape most commonly found in the region of Rias Baixas, one of the five official wine-growing regions in Galicia. It produces wines with lovely fresh fruit and crisp citrus flavours that are beautiful to drink.

Albillo Real

Albillo Real is a native Spanish white variety grown historically in Castille, especially Ribera del Duero, Avila and Madrid, as well as Galicia.

Alicante Bouschet

Alicante Bouschet is a red grape with red flesh, one of what the French call "dyer" varieties because they add a deep colour to red wine.

Bobal

Bobal is Spain’s 3^rd most widely grown wine grape, but still not that well known. Traditionally it was used in bulk wines, but these days it’s increasingly being used for single varietal wines.

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is an early budding, medium ripening grape variety with medium to high acidity which adapts well to different soil types. It is one of Spain's less common grapes, but can still be found in places like Castilla la Mancha, Catalunya and Valencia.

Cabernet Sauvignon

A cross between Cabernet Franc and the white grape, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon is perhaps the world’s most famous red grape.

Cariñena, Mazuelo or Samsó

Cariñena is a Spanish grape variety with many names - Carignan, Mazuelo, Samsó. Naming conventions aside, having once been the dominant wine grape in much of Spain only to fall out of favour, this grape is now making a comeback.

Chardonnay

One of the wine world’s most well-known grape varieties. In Spain it's used on its own or blended in Cava, and is popular because it can soak up the influence of its environment or the techniques of its winemaker like few other grapes.

Garnacha

Garnacha is one of the most widely grown red grapes in the world and Spain's third most popular red grape. From the famous Priorat to the lesser-known Méntrida, this grape has become a staple of the Spanish wine sector.

Garnacha Blanca

Garnacha Blanca is a wine with the Mediterranean in its DNA. Imagine yourself walking along a coastal path on a spring day with the smell of scrubland herbs and flowers mixing with the fresh sea air. Well, if you could bottle that it would probably be a Garnacha Blanca.

Giró

For many people, Giró is synonymous with, or a very old clone of, Garnacha and it’s the name given to the grape in the Levante region

Godello

Godello is a Spanish white wine grape primarily grown in the regions of Valdeorras and Monterrei in Galicia, and in Bierzo in Castilla & Leon. It produces wines with lovely citrusy flavours and delicate saline notes.

Graciano

Graciano is perhaps best known as "Rioja's third grape" after Tempranillo and Garnacha. It has a very dark-hued skin and gives dark, intense red wines with good acidity and levels of tannin. It tends to give fresh, elegant wines which are quite full in the mouth with a long finish.

Macabeo or Viura

Macabeo, or Viura as you’ll see it referred to in Rioja, is Spain’s fifth most widely planted grape. In Catalunya, it's commonly used in Cava whilst in Rioja, it's an important part of the region’s exciting experimentation with new white wines.

Malvasía

Malvasia is a Spanish white wine grape variety. It's popular in the Canary Islands, where you’ll find it as Malvasía Volcanica or Malvasía Aromatica. In mainland Spain, it's known as Doña Blanca, Malvasía Blanca, Alarije, Blanca Roja, Rojal and Subirat Parent amongst other names.

Mencía

Mencía is particularly popular in DOs like Bierzo or Ribeira Sacra, Monterrei and Valdeorras in Galicia. In general, Mencía wines are fresh and perfumed, with very appealing fruit that works well with very subtle oak or no oak at all.

Merlot

Originally from Bordeaux, Merlot is now grown in close to 40 countries across the world. It tends to give quite plump, juicy and rounded wines, which makes it the ideal blending partner for the more austere grapes.

Merseguera

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Monastrell

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Moravia Agria

Moravia Agria is one of Spain’s more obscure red grape varieties, grown principally in Castilla La Mancha, especially in DO Manchuela.

Moscatel

Moscatel is a highly aromatic grape variety. Its key characteristic is that it is one of the only wine grapes that produces wines that actually taste like grapes.

Palomino Fino

Palomino Fino is a white grape variety which originated in Andalucia and is most closely associated with Jerez where it's the key grape used to make a whole range of wines, mainly fortified but some still wines too.

Parellada

Parellada is a white wine grape, commonly used in the Spanish wine regions of Valencia and Catalunya. Alongside Xarel-lo and Macabeo, it is one of the three core grapes used to make the Spanish sparkling wine Cava.

Pedro Ximénez

Pedro Ximénez (PX) is traditionally associated with Andalucia, and particularly the sweet wines of Montilla-Moriles. In fact, some producers in Jerez or Malaga still routinely import sweet, sticky PX wines from Montilla-Moriles to sweeten their blends.

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is one of the world’s best known and best loved red grapes. But it’s also a notoriously delicate grape to work with and requires optimum growing conditions.

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is one of the world’s most popular white varieties. In many parts of Spain, the climate is a little too hot for Sauvignon Blanc to grow in large quantities. But you can find it used quite extensively in DO Rueda.

Sousón

Sousón is the most popular red grape in Rías Baixas, the Galician wine region known for its white Albariño wines. But it’s also found in the Spanish wine regions of Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro, Valdeorras and Monterrei.

Syrah

Originally from the Rhône Valley in France, Syrah has found fame in Australia, Argentina, Chile, South Africa and the US. But in Spain it is still largely used in blends.

Torrontés

Torrontés is the second most widely planted white wine grape in the Galician wine region of Ribeiro, with smaller plantings in Rías Baixas and Ribeira Sacra. Torrontés makes very aromatic Spanish white wines.

Treixadura

Treixadura is the main white grape in the Ribeiro DO in Galicia, where you’ll often find it blended with other local Galician white varieties like Godello or Torrontés. It produces aromatic, refreshing white wines.

Verdejo

Verdejo’s popularity shot up in the noughties as it became a sort of substitute for Sauvignon Blanc. Nowadays, 4 in every 10 bottles of white wine sold in Spain is made from the Verdejo grape. It's mainly grown in Castilla y León and particularly in the Spanish wine region Rueda.

Xarel-lo

Xarel-lo is a white grape variety from Catalunya in Spain. It is most commonly associated with the Spanish sparkling wine Cava, where it is blended with Parellada and Macabeo.