Wines of the week: Nine Tempranillo red wines to enjoy on autumn evenings

In the first of two columns devoted to autumnal red wines, Terry Kirby turns to Spain’s finest contribution to the wine world: the tempranillo grape

There’s been a bit of a nip in the air lately, the first snow has fallen, the clocks have gone back, the evenings are dark and many of us are already making plans for the festive season...It feels time for some serious red wine, the perfect bottle for this time of year, preferably to accompany some richer foods; roast red meat and game, casseroles and pies, baked pasta dishes.

In the first of two columns devoted to autumnal red wines, I’m turning to Spain’s finest contribution to the wine world: the tempranillo grape, because it is International Tempranillo Day next Thursday, 8 November. While these things are basically marketing wheezes, it a good excuse to recommend some fine wines from Spain, where more than 80 per cent of tempranillo is grown, although it has been attracting increasing attention in the New World too. Tempranillo is an amazing grape because it can produce youthful, juicy, plummy wines but is also capable of ageing in oak for many years. That reaches its finest expression in the Rioja area of northern Spain, one of the world’s great wine regions, where tempranillo reigns supreme as the major players and backbone in blends, delivering layers of dark red fruits, with earthy notes of tar, leather, tobacco and chocolate; Grenache and Graciano play minor but important roles, adding mocha and plummy fruits and aromatic elegance respectively. Oak adds vanilla, cinnamon and sandalwood notes, although in recent years the length of time in oak has dropped, allowing more fruit to shine through. And remember the simple Rioja designation of wines: crianza denotes youthful wines with only a couple of years of ageing, reserva tend to be better quality, with lots of ageing before release and gran reserva is, basically, more of the same; both the latter not made every year.

If you are looking for benchmark Rioja for special occasions, then try the Vina Ardanza La Rioja Alta.

Reserva 2009 (£19.50 winesociety.com; £25.99 or £22.99 if bought as part of mixed six-bottle purchase; majestic.co.uk) relatively youthful, fresh and approachable by the standards of some and still capable of ageing for a few years, this would make a great dinner party or festive celebration wine: silky, elegant, medium-bodied, structured and complex flavours of black fruits and spices. CVNE is one of the longest established Rioja houses and their Vine Real Gran Reserva 2011 (£22.00; normally £25.00, oddbins.com; £26.95 oxfordwine.co.uk) is also benchmark Rioja, but more complex and intense.

For a crianza for everyday meals, there is a large choice out there, but beware a lot of bland and rather indifferent wines or those that are often too oaky from bottle age. Seek a crianza from one of the top boutique wineries like the Rioja Vega Crianza 2015 (£10.40 tanners-wines.co.uk; £10.99 houseoftownend.com) that’s had just a year in oak: still youthful, smooth, soft, accessible, its great wine if you are having a barbecue for Bonfire Night this week.

The other principle area for tempranillo in Spain is the Ribera del Duero, also in the north, where the combination of climate and altitude brings out the best of the grape, known there as Tinto Fino and often used without other grapes to make fruit-forward, sometimes powerful wines, released without extensive oak ageing and with a strong acidity and freshness from the high altitude at which the grapes are grown. The organically grown Dominio Basconcillos 2016 (£15.50 abelandcole.co.uk; £16.50 vintageroots.co.uk) has gorgeous, richly textured and deep flavours of baked plums, dark cherries and hints of vanilla; one for a chicken and chorizo casserole.

Tempranillo is also important in other areas of Spain, such as the Toro area in the west. The 100-year-old vines that produce the Matsu El Viejo Toro 2015 (£31.99 sandhamswine.co.uk) are aided by 18 months in oak, to deliver deep, dark flavours of cedarwood, tar, coffee and more baked fruits, with some subtle Christmas pudding notes. Buy now; drink over the festive season with roast meats or something like a venison casserole.

Over the border in Portugal, tempranillo is known as Tinto Roriz or Aragonez and is, of course, used in the port grape blend. But in the Douro, the emphasis tends not to be on individual grapes and therefore it tends to play a less dominant role in a mix of grapes, such as in the smooth, rich and spicy Casa Ferreirinha Callabriga Douro Tinto 2015, (£17.19 portugalvineyards.com; £17.95 kwmwine.com) where it is a part of an ensemble of the port staples; touriga franca and touriga nacional, But it has a starring role in the drama that is the intense, silky and full-bodied Esporao Reserva Red 2014 (£17.99 waitrosecellar.com; £18.70 tanners-wines.co.uk) from the Alentejo region, with trincadeira, cabernet sauvignon and alicante bouschet acting as support.

In the New World, tempranillo’s main home has become Australia, with the McLaren vale region producing some attractive, very outgoing reds, such as the extraordinarily labelled Dead End McLaren Vale Tempranillo 2017 (£16.99 ahadleigh-wine.com) from excellent producers JC Pannell: vibrant, perfumed, medium bodied and simply brimming over with rich red fruits, while the biodynamic The Hedonist Tempranillo 2017, (£16.49 rudewines.co.uk) which has minimal oak ageing, more sweet Christmas spices and rich red fruits.

Next week: more reds wines for autumn.