This week marked another week for an “Out of the Box” wine. This was a wine that my husband picked up for me while driving home from a business trip. He stopped at the famous Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, TX for lunch and saw that they had set up a cellar shop next door. Since, my husband knows me well, he knew he would have to pick me up a bottle.
I knew that tempranillo grapes were popular for growing in Texas, but I was not exactly sure why. The research ensued! As it turns out, Texas is not the only place that grows quite a bit of Tempranillo. Spain is also a large producer of tempranillo.*
But I wanted to focus on Texas Tempranillo for this post. The first winery to grow tempranillo grapes in Texas was Alamosa Wine Cellars. Tempranillo vines are thriving in Texas because they can withstand the heat. The vines are thick and so are the grape skins.* Now several other wineries are following Alamosa’s lead and growing their own tempranillo vines. This varietal is quickly becoming a landmark of the state of Texas. While Cabernet is still the most widely grown grape, Tempranillo is gaining ground fast.
I have had a few Texas Tempranillos before and found them to be hit or miss for me. But I had high hopes for this one!
This wine was from the Texas Hill Country and sampled on April 7, 2017. At first sniff, I smelled only spice. After a few more whiffs I was able to distinguish hints of leather and plum. The first sip produced a bit of cherry with a high acidity that then faded into dark grape. I was listening the “Chantaje” by Shakira. I paired this wine with a spicy sausage and a few jalapeno poppers. However, the wine did not cut the spice of the food. Instead the food seemed only to exaggerate the spiciness of the wine. It needed something different for balance instead. But as a Tempranillo being sold directly beside a famous BBQ joint, it should be fit to stand with spicy and smoky flavors.
I gave this wine a rating of 2.5. It’s not a wine that would stand on it’s own for solo drinking. It also didn’t compliment the type of food it should have. Prepared with something different, it may have faired better.
Sources: