Tag Archives: Tempranillo

Dowie Doole Garnacha & Tempranillo 2011

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This has become one of my favourite smart quaffers over the past little while. As with all Dowie Doole wines, it’s made with an emphasis on drinkability, though this more than most. It has taken an increasingly savoury path since its initial release in 2009, and I’m happy to see this vintage continue the trend.

The nose is rich and dark, almost liqueurous in character, with dried dark berries oozing past spice and some woody, pleasantly vegetal notes. Without being especially serious or forbidding, the aroma profile seems deep to me, with a sense of plushness without simplicity that is very attractive. The palate is supple and just structured enough. The fruit is quite intense in an easygoing way, perhaps because its character is full and generous. Although there’s a decent amount of savouriness to the flavour profile, this wine has an almost total lack of angles, and that makes it outrageously easy to drink. Yes, drink. Tasting this wine as I am doing now entirely misses its point, as it practically begs a generous pour in a large glass with a hearty lamb pie.

Which is exactly what I’m about to do with it.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Angullong Bull's Roar Tempranillo 2010

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Tempranillo is new enough to Australia that trying a new one is still a lottery; in terms of quality, in terms of style. I admit to never having tasted one from the Orange/Central Ranges areas, so was curious to see what Angullong, a maker of solid, cleanly commercial wines, might do with the variety.

At first, the nose presents a hit of the sort of confected, carbonic maceration derived fruit character that, I regret to say, is a big turnoff for me. While it calms with time, the essential character of this wine stays true to that first impression: this is Tempranillo made for mass appeal. For a varietal that can, at times, be quite meaty and challenging, the aroma profile here is remarkably accessible, a hint of cola the only suggestion of savouriness. There’s also some cuddly vanilla, signalling a friendly approach to oak treatment.

The palate is rather acid-driven in structure, bringing additional sunlight to what is an already bright fruit profile. Red boiled lollies and tart berry skins are first to appear, followed by a welcome dose of twiggy, vegetal sappiness and a smattering of prickly tannins. It’s not an especially distinctive or complex flavour profile, but it’s different enough from a typical Shiraz or Cabernet to provide some interest. It’s an open question for me whether Tempranillo is best served by this style; I’d like to see less bright fruit, less oak, and a bit more difference. However, someone looking for an easygoing yet “different” wine may find a lot to like here.

Angullong
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Dowie Doole Garnacha & Tempranillo 2010

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This wine’s packaging, with which I was so taken when I tasted last year’s release, still made me grin when I unpacked the sample box this evening. It’s just so bold and fun, without resorting to the sort of immediately dated look that so many other producers seem to arrive at when trying to make their wines stand out on the liquor store shelf.

I was also impressed with the wine in the bottle last year; for my taste, though, the 2010 is a marked step up in sophistication and style. If I were to level a criticism at the 2009, it would be at its fruit character, which was quite sweet, perhaps too much so for some, and overpowering the positive, dirty influence that Tempranillo can bring. This is still a lusciously generous wine that wears its Grenache on its sleeve, but there’s a savoury dimension that seems more prominent this time around, taking the aroma profile to a darker place and helping the whole seem more complex.

The palate is perhaps a tad more gushy than the aroma suggests. Viscosity and intensely gorgeous red fruits on entry, this moves to the middle palate with a whoosh of acid and several licks of sweet/savoury character. I’m sure if I had a very savoury red wine alongside, this would seem hopelessly naive, but on its own terms it is positively delicious and, given the style sought, it seems quite perfectly judged.

Bloody good quaffing wine for the drinker with attitude.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Smallfry Barossa Tempranillo Garnacha Joven 2009

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What are the chances? This is the second Australian wine tasted in as many weeks made in a joven style, blending Grenache and Tempranillo, but referring to the former as Garnacha instead of the more bogan-sounding Grenache. This one is from micro-producer Smallfry, and the bottle in front of me is one of a run of 110 cases.

Dowie Doole’s G&T showed a Grenache Garnacha-dominant flavour profile of jammy red fruit, with Tempranillo adding savouriness and complexity at the edges. This, by contrast, takes a completely different approach, with funky, meaty Tempranillo taking centre stage, and Grenache adding some soft fruitiness. On the nose, the smell of pulling weeds, charcuterie, spice and soft red fruits. It’s light and fun, and its savouriness is attractive to me. No oak that I can detect. 
The palate is feather light, almost insubstantial, and it all might be too ephemeral if it weren’t such easy fun. Entry is sweet, but this quickly fans out to a savoury middle palate that is perhaps a bit dilute. The after palate shows the greatest complexity of flavour — crushed leaf and fresh cranberries —  plus a smattering of grainy tannins. Finish is decent. 
Very refreshing style. Personally, I prefer this to the Dowie Doole, though the latter’s generously sweet fruit will win many fans too. 

Smallfry
Price: $NA
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Gift

Dowie Doole Garnacha & Tempranillo 2009

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dd_gt.jpgThere’s something both fun and savvy about the way this wine is marketed; indeed, about what this wine is. The label design for starters, which caused me to laugh out loud when I pulled the bottle from its box, calls out the initials of its constituent grapes. Being a fan of gin and tonic, I immediately thought of satisfyingly fresh aromatics and a vaguely medicinal effect. More to the point, though, I thought of fun, ease and casual sophistication. Not a bad association to make given a new wine label.

The style here carries through, presenting a McLaren Vale spin on the easygoing vibe of a Rioja joven. The nose shows unmistakably fruity Grenache alongside some soft oak influences — light nougat and caramel — and a darker, more funky angle that, perhaps, is driven by the Tempranillo component. It’s fresh and fun, provided you are OK with a fruit sweet aroma profile, and its complexities are expressed as cuddliness rather than anything more intellectual. 
The flavour profile is absolutely in line with the aroma, showing juicy red fruits, rhubarb, some sunlit brambles and gentle caramel oak. It’s light to medium bodied, with a solid attack of confectionary fruit, leading to a middle palate that is all about deliciousness. The flavours are fleet of foot, registering then moving quickly on, never allowing time to be fully savoured or indeed examined too closely. This is deceptively sophisticated; there’s something impressive about making a wine seem so effortless. A fairly light after palate, with a smattering of grainy tannins, leads to a vibrant finish of average length.
There are some things one could object to here; the fruit is quite sweet, the structure very light, the concept derivative. But, as with my experience of the Dowie Doole portfolio generally, drinkability and real world satisfaction are put ahead of intellectual conceit and pretentious winemaking. I’m having a serious craving for croquettes.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Blue Poles Hopping Stone Tempranillo 2007

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The second Blue Poles Vineyard wine to be tasted at Full Pour and, like the first, a thought-provoking little number. 

A complex nose that balances spice and sweet fruit with aplomb. There’s a nice vibe to the aroma, with cherry-like fruit and very well-balanced chocolate and nougat oak, plus a light blanket of brown spice and a shake of pepper. There’s a lot going on, but the overall impression is of juicy straightforwardness, in the same way a good steak seems to express a world of flavour while remaining a single ingredient.
In the mouth, a lovely mix of fruit, spice and quite assertive tannin. More cherries squish on the tongue with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg, plus some slightly leafy notes.  Some cedar-like oak, though very much in the background, contributes a bit of spine to the flavour profile. I like the structure here; the tannins are abundant and almost chalky, quite delicious in fact, and the acid is lively and fine, providing a lovely blanket on which all the other elements can rest. Overall, the wine is medium bodied and shoots for elegance above density or sheer power. Very good length, which may grow more impressive as the wine ages and its structure allows the fruit to flow more freely.
This is an extremely convincing expression of Tempranillo that makes a great case for this combination of region and variety.

Blue Poles Vineyard
Price: $A22
Closure: Stelvin

Navarro López Tierracalar Tempranillo 2006

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It seems to me the turf war at the lower end of the wine market is, in a lot of ways, more interesting than any perceived battle of the premiums. Burgundy is no substitute for Central Otago Pinot; I’ll take both, thanks very much. If I take a more functional view of wine, though, one wine becomes more or less interchangeable with others of a similar style and price. Hence the availability of large numbers of inexpensive red and white wines the variety and region of which is of less import than, say, price point or style. On this view, I might easily substitute a local flavoursome red for a similarly priced import, so long as it meets my broad requirements of a tasty red wine.

This Spanish Tempranillo has me questioning what it might take for local red wine drinkers to switch en masse to an imported product. Certainly, the horse has bolted when it comes to white wine, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc having captured the palate (and wallet) of many an Australian consumer. This wine (and others like it) is in some ways a parallel case study — it’s just different enough, just cheap enough and just bland enough to represent an attractive alternative to a lot of local wines. 
None of which is meant as a compliment in particular. In fact, I wasn’t going to write this up as I am finding it quite uninspiring. But then, so are many wines at the $A15-20 mark, so it’s no failure of this wine in particular. The nose is moderately aromatic, showing woody spices alongside red dried fruits and a hint of cured meats. Quite easygoing, with just enough of a twist to raise an eyebrow and differentiate itself from the mainstream of mid-priced fruit bombs. The palate is very much more of the same, and to its credit is quite perfectly balanced for immediate consumption. Tasty sour red fruits and rough vanilla oak run the length of the tongue. And, well, not much else, really. A bit of meaty complexity, perhaps, and a pleasingly textured mouthfeel that is the highlight of the wine for me. Reasonable finish. Again, it’s only one step away from the generic mainstream of value-oriented industrial red wine, but that discernible step means a lot in this context.
Whether I’d personally choose this over a local wine of similar price is a moot point; the fact is, this is a real alternative and one I cannot fault as an everyday drinking wine. At $A12 or so, it would fly off the shelves.

Navarro López
Price: $A16.15
Closure: Cork

Telmo Rodríguez Dehesa Gago 2007

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Tempranillo-based wine from a not-exactly-renowned vintage in the Toro region. The label totally rocks. This really stood out on the shelf. 

The nose is quite confronting, with black pepper, oak, spiced meats, strange floral notes and the smell of dark red fruits that have fallen from the tree and been trodden into the pavement (overripe, sour-edged). It smells both excessively and insufficiently ripe at the same time. Nothing if not expressive, its character is sufficiently outré that I’m sure it will test some peoples’ sense of appropriateness. Not a bad thing. 

Structurally, this wine is all over the place, mostly due to a lack of harmony in the placement of its constituent parts: sweet fruit, coarse tannins, rough acidity and a lift of oak flavour. Drinking this wine is like having a bunch of things thrown into your mouth in no particular order; it’s not an especially refined experience. Yet it’s also quite drinkable in an odd way, probably because it’s so forthright and unapologetic. Quite a short finish.
I would imagine a better vintage might yield greater class and balance, and will look out for the 2008, which is (from what I’ve read) a superior wine. Still, I’m having fun drinking this and imagine it will complement well the chorizo sausages frying away in my kitchen.

Telmo Rodríguez
Price: $A27.55
Closure: Cork

El Coto Crianza 2004

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I haven’t taken the time to explore much Spanish wine, but it’s fair to say the Iberian peninsula is so hot right now. This, incidentally, is typical of my (in)ability to be ahead of the curve. No matter, if you are like me and are a novice in this area, I can highly recommend Dave Worthington’s excellent site Tinto y Blanco.

This evening, I was at my local First Murphy on an emergency wine run (triggered by those moments where nothing in the cellar looks remotely appealing) and decided to buy a few cheap Spanish bottles. Here’s the first, an inexpensive Tempranillo-based wine from a vintage officially rated “excellent” by the Rioja Control Board. 
A fun, moderately expressive nose of savoury red fruits, brown spices and a a nice thread of funky undergrowth. Some sweet oak too. I find it attractive, if straightforward.  It’s not an aroma that grabs you by the scruff of the neck; rather, it persuasively suggests you start thinking about what food to have with what you’re about to taste. The palate is sweeter than expected, with fresh red fruit and sweet oak the dominant characters. There are also some complexities; aniseed-like spice, for example, along with a general undercurrent of savouriness that keeps the fruit and oak in check. A really appealing, easy flow through the mouth, with acid and tannin balanced to create the sort of breezy sophistication you don’t quite recognise until it’s over. A dip through the spicy after palate never quite redeems itself on the finish, mostly because it doesn’t have enough time. 
There’s a lot to like here and all I can think about while drinking it are the various foods that might go with. Spicy sausage, I reckon. 

El Coto
Price: $A21.85
Closure: Cork

Campo Viejo Reserva 2004

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Finally, here’s the second part of my tasting notes for tonight. It took me a few minutes to decide what to do with the Campo Viejo Crianza 2006 – at first, I thought I could merely cork the bottle, sit it outside on the sidewalk, and – to paraphrase Mao – let a thousand unintended pregnancies bloom, but that would of course have been grossly irresponsible of me. Down the sink it went; yes, I did recycle.Now, on to this wine. My first thought on opening the bottle was simple “Oh, wait, this is a real wine.” I know, how haughty of me, but really: this didn’t smell of simple berries and fruit. This wine smells of, well, wine. There’s almost a hazelnut or roasted-coffee-biscotti note around the edge of it; it seems clear to me that this wine has seen a fair whack of oak. There’s also a lingering hint of some of the same vanilla berry notes from the regular version of the wine, but in a very tastefully restrained manner: it’s the difference between Versailles before and after Jeff Koons. What it really smells like, though, is proper Rioja: this reminds me of random bottles of Spanish wines happily drunk on holiday in Madrid with friends a few years back. What fruit there is is fastidiously framed by a hint of sourness, appetizing woody-coffee notes, and a sense of place. In short, whatever went missing from the crianza is here in the reserva.Taste-wise, there’s a brief, soft opening of gentle fruit that fairly rapidly fans out into an elegant, lacy interplay between reasonable, appetizing acidity, something like gentle earth, restrained berry fruits, soft vanillic effects, and then it all rides out quietly on somber, toasty oak. It’s the acidity that really ties the glass together, though; without it, this would be too soft, too easy. The overall effect is of eating delicious cake with a short espresso, I reckon; you get both the vanilla cherry pie and the upright tannins – but not too much, because then this wine wouldn’t really be Spanish.The most impressive thing here is to me the remarkable lightness of this wine. Compare to New World wines, this just doesn’t go as far down the tonal register, which makes it a refreshing change from the usual. This also means (I think) that this is another one to pair with sausages or grilled meats: it would work wonders. For me, it’s doing just fine with simple spaghetti bolognese, but it could have been so much more.Finally, I feel compelled to publicly wonder about something that utterly baffles me: this wine is selling for just $10 at The Wine Exchange in Orange, California. How can this be? If the cheap version of this is $9, why is this only a buck more and – more interestingly – why is it so much better?Disclaimer: I didn’t spend my own money on this bottle, but I also didn’t agree to anything.Campo Viejo
Price: $10
Closure: Cork