Tempranillo

Frane feels he made a major discovery with this grape and doesn’t want to live without it—so he will make more Tempranillos in years to come—it’s a good thing because 90% of this one sold out through futures. Tempranillo is a primary red wine grape for much of Spain, especially wines from the Ribera del Duero and the Rioja Alta. It is also a key blending varietal in Port and known by the name of tinta roriz in Portugal's Douro Valley. It is the main grape used in Rioja, and is often referred to as Spain's "noble grape". It needs only a short growing season and this early ripening tendency is the source of the name tempranillo, which translates to "little early one". Aromas and flavors often combine elements of berryish fruit, herbaceous- ness, and an earthy-leathery minerality giving it an untamed sort of burliness until it is tempered with more oak aging.

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• PRODUCED AND BOTTLED BY SUNCÉ WINERY AND VINEYARD
• SANTA ROSA, CA