Bray Vineyards Tempranillo – An All-American Tempranillo

100% Tempranillo from Shenandoah Valley, California.

SRP of $16 and available at that price. Sample received courtesy TAPAS and the winemaker for review purposes.

From the bottle:

“Known as Spain’s noble grape, Tempranillo is a classic quality grape variety and is responsible for making some of Spain’s best wines. Taking well to the California climate, Tempranillo produces wines which are lush and seductive with intense fruit flavors of black cherry, raspberry, currant and notes of plums and tobacco.

14.2% Alcohol”

Today, with a bit of sadness, we come to our last wine in our extended series on American Tempranillo. I’ve enjoyed these six wines immensely, and have been surprised at just how good this variety can be here in the States. To recap, here are the wines we sampled:

• The Abacela Estate Tempranillo from Umpqua Valley, Oregon: A Myriad of Multi-Dimensional Flavors.
• The Longoria Clover Creek Vineyard Tempranillo from Santa Ynez Valley, California: America The Beautiful (Saturday Splurge).
• The Bokisch Vineyards Tempranillo from Lodi, California: Organic and Dynamic.
• The St. Amant Amador County Tempranillo from Amador County, California: Made In The U.S.A.
• The Curran Tempranillo from Santa Ynez Valley, California: A Decadently Delicious Saturday Splurge.

The 2007 Bray Vineyards Tempranillo begins with pleasant aromas of black cherry, raspberry and a little leather. Tasting the wine shows a good silky texture. The fruit flavors from the bouquet carryover and there are is also some added vanilla and tobacco. The finish shows a bit of heat, but has good length. Give this wine plenty of time to breathe — we found it to be even better on day 2.

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.

Find out more about my rating system and check out the Wine Ranking to find all my reviews! You can sort by type of wine, cost, rating, etc. in the interactive spreadsheet.