This is a dreamy, spicy and smooth Spanish Tempranillo from Bideona, a winery founded in 2018 in Rioja Alavesa. This is one of our best sellers and is made from impressively old vines, many of which were planted in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s and the result of the viticulture is incredible concentration

The wine was aged in an adventurously modern combination of French and American oak barrels, all older oak, for five months. 

The name Laderas means hills and refers to the sloping vineyards from which this smooth, softly fruited, deep red wine comes. Bodega Badiola owns 300 parcels of land on the slopes of Sierra Cantabria, in the villages of Villabuena de Alava, Leza, Samaniego, Laguardia, Navaridas and Baños del Ebro. 

The average vine age of is about 50 years and the vines are trained en vaso, referring to the sturdy bush vines, grown without trellising on limestone soils. All grapes are hand picked and the wine is aged in a combination of French and American oak barrels of second and third use, for five months. 

Tempranillo is the king and queen of Spanish grape varieties with over 206,000 hectares in that country’s entire vineyard area, making it the most planted red grape variety and the second most overall after the little known white Spanish grape called Airen. 

This tasty and super affordable, dry Spanish red is made from organically certified vineyards in Uclés in Castile, Spain, where the vines are grown as part of an integrated ecosystem, along with old oak trees. This region's continental climate provides hot sunny days and cool nights, which provide favourable ripening conditions for the Tempranillo grape. 

The grapes in this wine are harvested in the cool of night and early morning, given a light crush and fermented in stainless steel to preserve fruit freshness. Maceration is typically eight to 10 days and no oak is used in the winemaking, so the fruit is hero in this smooth, medium bodied red. 

The name Tempranillo comes from the Spanish word temprano, which means early. It’s apt. Tempranillo is an early grape to bud in spring and it ripens early in autumn. Along with its big bunches of small, thick skinned grapes and relatively big yields (that’s means it provides a lot of grapes to harvest and make wine from), it’s a successful grape to grow. As for the taste, Tempranillo’s character tends to be soft, smooth, bright and fruity. What’s not to love? There’s

Maravedí is the name of an ancient Spanish coin and this wine is an excellent example of a Tempranillo and Syrah blend, made from old Spanish dry farmed and organically certified vineyards. Deep purple with a ruby rim, displaying aromas of red fruit and blackberries with slight spicy notes of freshly ground pepper. Medium bodied and juicy on palate, yet with fine tannins and a refreshing finish.

The continental climate, with sunny days and cool nights, allow for intense fruit and excellent varietal definition, while retaining remarkable freshness. The Organic Grapes are picked at night and in the early morning hours and shipped quickly to a state-of-the-art winery for destalking, light crushing and fermentation under temperature control in stainless steel. Maceration lasts for 8-10 days to achieve a perfectly balanced style without excessive extraction. No oak is used to achieve a pure expression of the combination of Tempranillo and Syrah.

Bodega Muga was founded in 1932 and remains in family hands today with 250 hectares in La Rioja Alta and long standing contracts with owners of another 150 hectares of vineyards spread among five main vineyards on clay and limestone soils with a wide variety of microclimates. 

The Muga wines are exciting and interesting Spanish blends of indigenous grapes with Tempranillo in the lead, supported by Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano for the reds. 

If you’re a fan of Spanish wine, try this gorgeous next level reserve out for size. 

A traditional Rioja. Full bodied. Rich, red fruit aromas with noticeable oak influence. Very fruit forward on the palate.

This gorgeous smooth fruity red puts Spain's best foot forward every year with its spicy aromas and ripe smooth fruit flavours. 

Spain's greatest red grape, Tempranillo, is now being grown and pressed into tasty dry reds and rosés in New Zealand, such as this delicious dry, savoury pink wine from Elephant Hill.

Spanish inspired, Australian made Tempranillo from the adventurous Chaffey Bros brand. This dry Aussie red is smooth, soft textured and tastes of ripe fruit flavours of red and dark plums, stewed and dried. It's made from two vineyards in the Barossa Valley, South Australia, one of them with 70+ years of vine age, which comes through in this wine's superb concentration of flavour - older vines are thought to deliver richer flavours. 

The inspiration for La Conquista comes from Spain's most famous red wine, Rioja, which is usually a blend. This is also a blend and uses the same grapes as found in Rioja - namely, Tempranillo with Grenache and Graciano (from the cooler Eden Valley) for support. 

The wine is named after the 1811 Battle of the Barrosa in Cadíz.

Now owned by the renowned sherry producer Gonzalez Byass, Bodegas Beronia was created in 1973 by a wine and food club and is now considered a benchmark Rioja house.

A deep picota cherry red colour with a garnet edge, this wine is clean and bright. It is complex on the nose, with aromas of cherry and raspberry standing out, complemented by herbal notes - rosemary and thyme - and hints of cinnamon and tobacco. Very fresh and tantalising on the palate, this wine displays a plethora of flavours, the most prominent of which are the confected notes of vanilla and chocolate.

A gorgeous fruit forward, modern Rioja with minimal oak use from the Rioja Alavesa region; the smallest of the Rioja sub-regions and comparable to Rioja Alta in terms of its high quality. The nose is pure and expressive of dark cherries and bramble fruit and the palate shows depth and purity with superb balance from fine chalky tannins and keen acidity. 

This Reserva Tempranillo from Valdepenas is a great example of the quality coming out of Spain at the  moment.  Ripe and juicy, yet also with hints of oak and complexity.  Grapes from their oldest, low-yielding vineyards were combined with those of younger vines to create a blend of rich dark fruit with smooth vanilla and rich cocoa. 12 months in American oak barrels, followed by a further 24 months in the bottle add a silken texture to the blend.  Superb with hearty stews and char-grilled steaks as well as a variety of tapas.

"Dark cherry red with a savoury bouquet infused with redcurrant fruit and cake spices, then spicy and savoury to the taste with lifted red berry fruit, a touch of orange zest and peppery spices. There's a nice touch of smokiness coming through, underlying earthy notes and a long dry finish lifted by vanillin oak and mint. Tannins are firm yet the wine is ripe and juicy with a pleasing generosity. Fantastic presentation.  13% alc."

The Wine:

Tinto Joven; 96% Tempranillo, 2% Garnacha, and 2% Viura.
Rioja Alta, vineyards of Ábalos and San Vicente de la Sonsierra.
A blend of native varieties from our vineyards located in the Rioja Sonsierra region. The varieties combine to create a clear definition of a young, fresh, and fruity wine.

WINEMAKING:

Process: Carbonic maceration (whole bunch maceration). This allows us to transmit all the fruitiness of the grapes to this wine. Fermented at a controlled temperature (26º). The fermentation process proceeds normally and quickly. Natural stabilization and bottling.

The Producer:

Abeica is winery currently under the watch of the fourth generation - with the fifth already cutting their teeth. Do not for one second though assume that this historic connection bears the weight of conforming to brand Rioja.  During the 1990's the winery was successful at home and abroad. Growing year -on-year, buying in grapes from neighbouring properties to fuel their growth.  The four siblings, Isabel, Ricardo, Pachi and Raul decided to pull back from this and return to a true family project using only their own vines and their combined skills.  Vineyards are mainly clay-calcareous between 450-590 metres and enjoy the protection of the Sonsierra mountain range. Vintage employs the entire extended family to hand pick and bring in the harvest to the gravity-fed winery. Fermentation is generally whole bunch under carbonic maceration. There is a refreshing hands - off approach, letting nature do the work which leads to freshness across the range. It truly feels like Rioja with the light let in.

Beronia Reserva is made from a selection of the best grapes from the oldest Tempranillo vines, plus some Graciano y Mazuelo. After a spell undergoing cold pre-fermentation maceration and controlled fermentation with periodic pumping over to extract the desired colour and aromas, the wine spent 18 months in mixed French and American oak barrels to create the unmistakable 'Beronia Style'. Lastly the wine was left to rest in the bottle a further 18 months before being released to the market.

Atractive and intriguing on the nose it displays nutty aromas – roasted almonds, walnuts – followed by notes of plum primarily but also ripe fruit and a pleasant hint of white pepper, which all add complexity and freshness. Full bodied the palate, the wine displays balanced acidity. The flavours are mostly of ripe fruit, whilst the finish is sweet and smooth, bringing to mind cacao and roasted hazelnuts.

"High summer temperatures define this vintage. After a mild winter with very little rainfall, spring began with a great deal of rain, which provided favourable conditions for the growth cycle of the vines. During the summer, they experienced very high temperatures and the absence of rain, which resulted in very healthy vines.

As a general result, this was a balanced year, where the final absence of rains led to a good concentration of grapes. This year is noted for a vintage with volume that can be enjoyed as a young wine."

Alc 14%