Tempranillo

**Tempranillo** is a red grape and the backbone of Spanish fine wine, most famously in Rioja and Ribera del Duero, where it produces the country's most age-worthy reds. Its name nods to its habit of ripening early. **In the glass** — expect a medium-to-full red with aromas of red cherry, dried fig, leather and, when oak-aged, sweet vanilla and dill from American barrels. Tannins are firm but rounded, acidity moderate, and the wine gains a savoury, tobacco-like character with age. **Where it grows** — Rioja gives elegant, oak-scented wines; Ribera del Duero produces darker, more powerful ones. In Portugal it turns up as Tinta Roriz and Aragonez, a key player in Port and Douro reds, and it has spread to Australia, Argentina and beyond. **At the table** — a natural partner for roast lamb, chorizo and other grilled or cured meats. **Cellaring** — the best Gran Reserva bottlings reward a decade or two, though everyday styles drink beautifully within a few years.

Wines

• 10 Year Old Tawny Port — Taylor Fladgate
• 10 Year Old Tawny Port — Dow's
• 10 Years Old Tawny — Barão de Vilar
• 10 Years Old Tawny Port — Quinta do Javali
• 20 Year Old Tawny Port — Dow's
• 200 Monges Reserva — Bodegas Vinícola Real
• 27 — Bodegas Protos
• Aalto — Aalto Bodegas y Viñedos
• Acontia 9 Santo y Seña — Bodegas Liba y Deleite
• Alión — Bodegas y Viñedos Alión (Tempos Vega Sicilia)
• Alión — Bodegas y Viñedos Alión
• Altano Rewilding Edition Douro Tinto — Symington Family Estates
• Altares Tinto — Bodega Alto Miraflores
• Altos Ibéricos Crianza — Bodegas Torres
• Aluado — Aluado
• Animus Douro — Vicente Faria Wines
• Ash Tree Estate Merlot - Tempranillo — Freixenet
• Aurum Crianza Selection Schwander — Bodegas Murua
• Avizor — Finca Rodma
• Barca Velha — Casa Ferreirinha