Spanish Tempranillo

Hello Wine Lovers!

Today we are talking about a wine that will knock you over! This little number is 100% Tempranillo, The Venta Morales Tempranillo 2008 is completely tank-fermented, and is a juicy, vibrant red that really delivers, demonstrating loads of black cherry, raspberry and herbs on the finish. It is from the La Mancha region in Spain and is a whopping $4.99 a bottle! Are you kidding me? How do they get a bottle of wine to market for that money? Crazy! You won't be disappointed... and if by chance you are, dump it in your windshield wiper fluid tank!

Lets talk a little about this grape.

Tempranillo is a variety of black grape widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its native Spain. It is the main grape used in Rioja, and is often referred to as Spain's "noble grape". The name is derived from the Spanish word temprano, which means "early", a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks earlier than most Spanish red grapes.
Tempranillo wines can be consumed young, but the most expensive ones are aged for several years in oak barrels. The wines are ruby red in color usually with aromas and flavors of berries, plum, tobacco, vanilla, leather and dried herbs.

Tempranillo is currently enjoying a surge 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. You will find producers in California growing the varietal as well as Chile, South Africa, Argentina and even Canada!

Cheers!

J