Reprint
from Wine Business Monthly - August 2005
Is the Classic Rioja Grape the Next New World Superstar?
The success of Spanish wines has more growers taking an
interest in the noble red Tempranillo grape, a locally
untapped resource.
By Christopher Sawyer
When you consider how well French, Italian and even German
grape varieties have done in California, you almost have
to shake your head in disbelief that it is only now that
growers and vintners are starting to get serious about
working with Tempranillo, the noble red grape from Spain.
While the variety does have a long, storied past of being
cultivated on the West Coast, truth is it simply arrived
before its time.
The
first cuttings were brought to California in the 1890s
from Valdepeñas, a small Spanish winegrowing region
near La Mancha (where Tempranillo is called “Cencibel”),
and propagated at the historic Jackson Vineyard in Amador
County. That was the good news.
The
bad news was that the early farmers did not regard the
variety as a quality grape. Instead, the budwood taken
from the original block was grafted onto vines in the dry
and extremely hot areas of the Central Valley. Many of
the vineyards were farmed to produce high yields, and most
of the fruit was used to make jug wines. If that distinction
wasn’t dubious enough, the downgrading of the noble
grape caused University of California, Davis to put the
variety on its black list twice following Repeal.
That tarnished image has quickly faded thanks to a growing
number of producers who have planted the variety in new
areas that are much more suited for the plant. The inspiration?
According to the over 20 vintners I spoke with, each was
motivated to plant the variety after tasting wines from
the premier Spanish regions of Rioja, Ribera del Duero
and Priorato, places where fine wines are made with the
Tempranillo grape.
In the worldwide arena, Tempranillo now occupies a wider
global surface than Chardonnay and currently ranks 6th
among the most commonly grown grape varieties planted (about
332,500 acres). The fever is catching on the West Coast
as well.
In 2003, according to the California Agricultural Statistics
Service, 767 acres of the variety were planted. While it
may seem like a tiny number, it is in fact double the amount
planted in the mid-1990s. Many of these new plantings are
north of San Francisco, the Central Coast and the Sierra
Foothills. The variety is now being grown in Oregon, Washington,
and Baja, California as well.
On
January 26th, over 50 vintners, growers and members of
the press attended the first organizational meeting
of the Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos Society,
held in association with the 2005 Unified Grape and Wine
Symposium in Sacramento. To further broadcast information
about the grape and the producers working with it on the
West Coast, the group’s website, www.tapasociety.org,
is currently being updated and expanded.
Goodwill Hunting for Clones
In general, Tempranillo is an early-ripening grape that
features a combination of high pH, low acidity and thick
skin to provide plenty of color and powerful tannins to
work with.
Until
recently, the Valdepeñas clone, which is
often referred to as “Clone 3” or the “Jackson
Clone,” was the only plant material available. Today,
there is a much wider range to choose from. Primary Tempranillo
clones available through the UC Davis Foundation Plant
Material Service (FPMS) include: Clone 1, the most widely
planted Tempranillo clone in the U.S.; Clone 2, an AGRO
clone exchange between Rioja and UC Davis; Clone 3, the
original Clone 43 from the Viticulture Institute of Logrono
in Rioja, Spain; and Tinta Roriz, the Portuguese version
of Tempranillo. The latest chapter has been a quest for
more specialized clonal selection material from individual
vineyards in Spain.
Born in Iberia and an American emigrant since the age
of one, Markus Bokisch (now of Bokisch Vineyards in Lodi)
dreamed of planting Tempranillo since his teens. In 1992,
on a whim, Bokisch ended his job at Joseph Phelps Vineyards
in Napa Valley, packed his bags and traveled to Spain in
pursuit of gourmet clonal material to plant in California.
The Raiders of the Lost Ark-style journey took Bokisch
and his wife Liz to a wide range of growing regions in
the country. Bokisch remembered each one like he was there
yesterday.
“Much like Sangiovese is to Italy, Tempranillo is
the pervasive variety in Spain. Clonal variations exist
throughout the country, and there are special selections
that meet the climate variations of each region,” he
said.
After
two years, Bokisch found what he was looking for in Tinto
Fino, the local clone of Ribera del Duero in Northern
Spain, which produces small berries and small clusters.
Now referred to as the “Duero Selection,” the
budwood from this discovery has since been grafted at a
number of different sites in California and Oregon.
Additional clonal selections that have made it to America
include the Pesquera Selection, from the old vine estate
vineyards of Alejandro Fernandes in the Duero Valley, and
the Tinta de Toro Selection from Bodega Mauro, producers
of the worldclass brand Vega Sicilia.
Modern Mavericks
Not
surprising, one of the first premium wineries to work
with the unique grape variety was Clos du Bois in Sonoma
County, whose parent company Allied Domecq has large vineyard
holdings in Rioja. In 1990, budwood purchased from the
UC Davis Mother Block nursery was planted at River Oaks,
the winery’s estate vineyard in Alexander Valley.
Around the same time, Boeger Vineyards near Placerville
in El Dorado County planted its first vines as well. Both
wineries have since gone on to produce popular reserve
wines made with Tempranillo.
On
a larger scale, R.H. Phillips-Hogue in Yolo County’s
Dunnigan Hills began working with the Jackson Clone in
1993 and has since added the Duero Selection to its repertoire.
Currently, the variety is planted to 16 acres at the estate,
and an additional 15 acres are managed under contract.
The EXP 1999 Tempranillo was its first release. The 3,000
cases produced annually make the winery the leader in the
varietal category in terms of volume of Tempranillo produced
in the U.S.
Enthusiasm
regarding the grape has also spread outside California.
In 1995, Abacela Winery in Oregon’s Umpqua
Valley became the first premium winery in the Pacific Northwest
to plant the variety. The three estate vineyards are each
planted on weak soil, bedrock or cobblestones, and feature
clones 1, 2, 3 and the Duero Selection. Proprietor and
winemaker Earl Jones currently makes three separate tiers
of Tempranillo and said he’s never been able to keep
up with the cult status demand. “It’s not too
bad of a position to be in,” said Jones.
Tempranillo 101
By no means is Tempranillo a sissy style of grape. Much
like Syrah, it is a variety that needs to be restrained
or else it will produce eight to 10 tons per acre.
“My best tip for dealing with Tempranillo is to
hit the vines hard and don’t let your guard down,” said
Towle Merritt, director of vineyard operations at Gundlach-Bundschu,
a Sonoma Valley winery that began working with the grape
at its Rhinefarm Estate vineyard in 1993. “It is
a variety that demands respect and key vineyard management
techniques.”
Because
of its natural vigor, the variety works best planted
at sites featuring poor but well-drained soils. Divigorating
rootstocks, such as 110R, 5BB, SO-4 and 1103-Paulsen, are
used to limit growth beneath the surface; most trellis
systems feature Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) to compensate
for the plants’ naturally erect growth pattern.
Large
vineyard row spacing of 6x8, 7x11, 8x7 or 8x12 is common.
At Abacela, Jones experimented with closer spacing
but found that the plants did not respond. “The grape
is just too strong to deal with those conditions,” he
said.
Irrigation
control and vine stress are monitored on a regular basis.
However, the variety does have its fair
share of idiosyncrasies. “It’s a very misleading
grape,” said Clay Shannon of Shannon Ridge Winery,
who farms 2.5 acres of Tempranillo on a steep volcanic
hillside near Clearlake Oaks, Lake County. “The pressure
bomb may say that it needs more water, but it doesn’t.”
In
spring, Tempranillo typically blooms around the same
time as Pinot Noir. In addition to normal shoot thinning,
intensive cluster thinning is required throughout the entire
growing season. Techniques include dropping excess fruit,
removing auxiliary lobes (also called “shoulders”)
from the sides of the cluster, and dropping all green berries
at veraison. Overall, clones 2 and 3 tend to produce the
heaviest loads of fruit, and require the most thinning.
“Each plant wants to bear a ton,” said Louisa
Sawyer Lindquist of Verdad, a Spanish-style brand of wine
that she makes with husband Bob Lindquist at Qupé in
Santa Maria Valley. Lindquist said it is typical to drop
75 percent of the fruit from her Tempranillo vines (Clone
2 and the Pescadero Selection) that are planted at the
organically farmed Ibarra-Young Vineyard in Santa Ynez
Valley.
Harvest and beyond
The
name “Tempranillo” stems from the Spanish
word “temprano,” which means “early.” In
the motherland, the variety is one of the first red grapes
to be harvested. In California, however, it tends to be
picked a bit later, usually in mid-September to the first
week in October, quite often around the same time as Merlot.
In
late August, tiny wrinkles start to develop on the berries.
And by harvest, the weighty skins look like they
simply want to slip off the fruit. According to growers,
the key is to be patient. As a rule, Tempranillo’s
thick skin carries a heavy load of tannins that can be
very coarse or astringent if picked too soon. Thus, maturity
on the vine is a widely used technique to smooth out this
harshness.
Most
producers typically pick at 24 Brix or higher, with a
pH between 3.3 and 3.6. On a micro-level, the desired
weight is .50 lb to .75 lb per cluster. On the larger scale,
four tons or less per acre is common. “The flavors
get diluted if it gets above that amount,” said Barry
Bergman, director of winemaking at R.H. Phillips, which
averages 3.5 tons per acre.
In the cellar, the grapes are relatively easy to work
with. Many of the producers I spoke with say they like
to separate 20 to 40 percent of the clusters for whole-berry
fermentation if possible. In general, maceration takes
between seven and 11 days, and aggressive pump-overs are
not required. By the time the must goes into barrel, it
is usually bone dry.
As a rule, an extended amount of time in barrel helps
soften aggressive tannins. Most producers leave their wine
in the barrels for 18 to 24 months, but 14 months is considered
a minimum. In Spain, it has become a tradition to use American
oak barrels. Here, it is open to more interpretation. For
instance, Boeger uses all American oak (mainly neutral),
and R.H. Phillips uses 80 percent American and 20 percent
French; Abacela, on the other hand, uses 80 percent French
(25 percent new).
The
wines are kept in bottle for another year before being
released. Justin Boeger, winemaker at Boeger Vineyards,
said that he has not ruled out the possibility of developing
a true Spanish-style “reserva,” a more regimented
program that requires the wine to be aged three years in
oak, followed by two years in bottle. “At this point,
we see no reason why it wouldn’t work. However, it
does require a bit more time and commitment,” he
said.
Adapting
to the West
Tempranillo is grown throughout Spain, so it is not surprising
that the grape has been able to adapt to a variety of different
regions on the West Coast.
The
Sierra Foothills—the large, mountainous appellation
that features an array of high-elevation sites, rocky soils,
and a mixture of both Continental and Mediterranean climates—is
one of the areas where Tempranillo seems to adapt particularly
well.
In El Dorado County, the Boegers have planted Tempranillo
at three separate sites. They work with the grapes from
each one separately in order to add more complexity to
the final blend. According to proprietor Greg Boeger, the
lower sites at 1,800 ft. and 2,200 ft. produce richer,
rounder wines while the east-facing slope at 3,000 ft.
has a higher degree of acid, depth and concentration. Other
El Dorado producers working with the variety include Perry
Creek, Toogood Estate and Busby Vineyards.
Further
south along the foothills is Calaveras County. Near Murphys,
Stevenot Winery began working with Tempranillo
grapes in 1994, and the varietal has since become its flagship
wine. This year, 1,700 cases were bottled from the 2002
vintage, an all-time high. “To be frank, you need
something different and unique to be competitive in the
varietal wine market,” said winemaker Chuck Hovey. “That’s
why we went with what works best in these conditions.”
Twisted
Oak in Vallenito, the newest winery in Calaveras, produced
350 cases of 2002 Tempranillo for its inaugural
release; for the 2003 vintage, the production will increase
to 1,000 cases. Winemaker Scott Klann sees great promise
for the grape in the future. “Much like Grenache,
the flavors of Tempranillo are powerful yet seductive.
It is a wonderful variety that gives the winemaker plenty
of fun flavors to work with as well as style and charm
once bottled.”
In
Lake County, the volcanic hillsides southeast of Clear
Lake have become another attractive location where three
separate wineries—Shannon Ridge, Spencer-Roloson
and Monte Lago—have already planted the variety. “This
subregion is pretty much all rocks with just a touch of
classic Konocti loam,” said Sam Spencer, co-proprietor
of Spencer-Roloson, about their site. “It is a setting
that helps the Tempranillo vines produce concentrated micro-yields—ones
that will then be used to make the most potent elixir possible.”
The
variety has also caught the fancy of other high-end producers
in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley appellation,
including K Vintners, Seven Hills Winery and Cayuse Vineyards.
Frenchman Christophe Baron, proprietor of Cayuse, currently
works with clones 1 and 2 on a three-acre parcel at his
biodynamically-farmed En Chamberlin Vineyard. In the cellar,
Baron handles the Spanish variety in much the same way
that he does Syrah, the grape grown most on the property,
by using native yeast, French oak and extending the maceration
period for as long as possible.
“To me, Tempranillo is more like a bullfight,” said
Baron. “It’s a variety that really allows you
to experience the heat, the sweat, the dust, the blood
and the meatiness of the wine from the minute you open
the bottle.”
Other
premium Tempranillo producers on the West Coast include:
Justin Vineyards, Castoro Cellars, Barreto Cellars
and Meeker Vineyards (Paso Robles); Capay Valley Vineyards
(Yolo County); Brehms, Truchard (Carneros); Turnbull, Parador
(Napa Valley); Chateau Felice (Sonoma County); Yorkville
Highlands (Mendocino); and Murrieta’s Well and Little
Valley Winery (Livermore).
Powerful Blends
Blending is another interesting focal point in working
with Tempranillo. In Spain, the variety is mainly blended
with Graciano, Garnacha (Grenache), Carinena (Carginane)
and Monastrell (Mourvedre). And while there are a number
of producers on the West Coast that do bottle the varietal
by itself, the majority blend.
Perhaps the most intriguing variety to add is Graciano,
an indigenous Spanish black grape that features wonderful
aromatics, intensive flavor components, low pH and a higher
level of acidity than Tempranillo.
Much
like a specialty spice used for cooking, just a pinch
of Graciano can go a long way. Bokisch, for instance, not
only uses the variety for blending but also bottles some
separately. “Tempranillo is a classic style of wine
that is very food-friendly,” said Bokisch. “Graciano
is strong enough to be an entire meal.”
Garnacha
(Grenache) has its strengths as well. Abacela and Boeger
have been working with the Spanish version of
the grape for quite some time while many others use Rhône
clones instead. For instance, Lindquist of Verdad blends
her Tempranillo with smaller percentages of Syrah from
Bien Nacido Vineyards in Santa Maria Valley and Grenache
from the Pusima Mountain Vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley. “Syrah
provides the wine with more structure while Grenache is
the Yin to the Yang—it’s always there to provide
the aromatics, more mouthfeel and complexity on the palate.”
On
the flipside, many high-end wine producers in Navarre,
Rioja and Ribera del Duero have also begun to work with
the “experimental” varieties for blending,
including Bordeaux varieties. We are now seeing signs of
that here too. For example, The Spaniard, a new red blend
by Twisted Oaks, contains 60 percent Tempranillo, 30 percent
Cabernet Sauvignon and 10 percent Petite Verdot.
Clos
du Bois Tempranillo Reserve often contains between 10
to 20 percent of Bordeaux varietals in its blend. For
example, the 2002 Reserve, which will be released next
year, will feature a large amount of Alexander Valley Cabernet
Sauvignon. “We used it to soften the big and bold
Tempranillo,” said winemaker Eric Olson. “That
should tell you something.”
R.H.
Phillips often takes the more California-style route.
The 1999 EXP Tempranillo, for example, featured 11 percent
Petite Sirah, 6 percent Zinfandel and 5 percent Cabernet
Sauvignon. When asked if he thought there were guidelines
for blending with Tempranillo, Bergman pondered the question
for a moment, then smiled and said, “I think we are
all still learning the intricacies of Tempranillo. So it
seems only fair that we let our imaginations be the guiding
forces when it comes to blending.”
Moving Forward
The
interest in the noble Tempranillo grape has also begun
to spread to consumers—thanks in many ways to the
recent success of Spanish wines in the U.S. market and
the continuous educational support provided by Wines of
Spain, a branch of the Trade Commission of Spain, based
in New York City.
In many ways, this spreading of information parallels
the movement by the Australians in the late 1980s and early
1990s that started the ball rolling about the beauties
of Shiraz (Syrah), a grape variety that has since been
taken very seriously in America. Now, whether or not the
same will hold true with Tempranillo remains to be seen.
On the more grassroots level, producers are doing their
best to spread the word as well. As a result, according
to Sam Spencer of Spencer-Roloson, a niche is starting
to be carved in the marketplace for Tempranillo. It simply
needs more exposure.
“Most
people that taste our wine for the first time either
have low expectations or are simply skeptics about
the variety. But that barrier is usually crossed after
just the first sip. They buy a bottle, take it home and
share the information they learned with others. Right now,
I think we are just on the brink of a snowball effect.”
He
continued, “Tempranillo is currently an unmapped
resource in California. I think the new mission is to help
put it on the map to stay.” wbm
Tempranillo Society Founded
Tempranillo
has always been the most important and the most highly
pedigreed grape of Spain. According to TAPAS
(the Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos Society),
it now occupies a larger global land surface worldwide
than Chardonnay (about 332,000 acres), ranking it sixth
among the most commonly grown grape varieties, remarkable
considering that the variety is not well known in the U.S.
The first organizational meeting of TAPAS occurred during
the 2005 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento.
Anticipating an attendance of approximately 20, the TAPAS
participants were surprised that more than 50 people arrived
to talk about and taste Tempranillo. Delegates from four
states representing more than 25 wineries, plus growers
from several vineyards, enthusiastically volunteered to
work in forming the TAPAS organization. From this caucus,
the following were elected to one-year terms as the board
of directors and in the following positions:
President
Earl Jones (Abacela Vineyards & Winery,
Roseburg, OR)
Vice President Bill Webster (Little Valley Winery, Sunol,
CA)
Secretary Michael Barreto (Barreto Cellars, Paso Robles,
CA)
Treasurer Martin Meeker (Meeker Vineyards, Paso Robles,
CA)
Webmaster Jeff Stai
Public Relations Sandi Bohner
Grower Reps Martin Meeker and Ron Silva
PR Committee Sandi Bohner, Samuel Spencer and Brenda Peterman
By-Laws Committee Bill Webster, Jeff Stai, Steve Reustle,
Chuck Hovey and Martin Meeker
Events Coordinator Salvador Galvan
Membership Jim Johnson
The
group officially recognized Ramondin USA for providing
initial sponsorship of the TAPAS organization and their
first meeting. “I haven’t seen that much energy
pouring out of a group in a long time,” Melinda Elledge,
of Ramondin USA, told Wine Business Monthly. “The
volley of ideas going back and forth was tremendous.” For
more information, visit www.tapasociety.org or contact
Sandi Bohner of Little Valley Winery at 925-862-9006, or
email press_tapas@tapasociety.org.
wbm
Christopher Sawyer
Christopher Sawyer is a journalist, wine consultant and
sommelier based in Sonoma, CA.
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