Tempranillo

Tempranillo is Spain's most important red grape, and its name comes from temprano, early — it ripens several weeks before most Spanish varieties, which is what allows it to succeed in the cool, high country of northern Spain.

It has moderate acidity, moderate tannin and relatively low aromatic intensity, which makes it a grape defined more by ageing than by fruit. The flavours are red cherry, plum and dried fig, with leather, tobacco and dill, and it takes oak exceptionally well.

Rioja built its identity on that relationship. The classification system is based on time in barrel and bottle — crianza, reserva, gran reserva — rather than on vineyard, which is the opposite of the French approach and reflects a tradition shaped by nineteenth-century Bordeaux merchants. American oak, with its sweeter, more overtly vanilla and coconut character, was the historical choice and remains a marker of the traditional style; French oak has become common in modern producers.

Ribera del Duero, on the high Castilian plateau, grows it as Tinto Fino at 800 metres or more, where the extreme day-night temperature swing produces darker, more concentrated and more tannic wine than Rioja.

In Portugal's Douro it is Tinta Roriz and is one of the five principal Port varieties; in the Alentejo it is Aragonez.

A recent shift towards single-vineyard wines and less oak has divided Rioja, with some producers arguing the barrel-ageing categories obscure differences in terroir that matter more.

The oak question divides the region and is worth understanding before buying. Traditional Rioja uses American oak, often for years, giving dill, coconut and sweet vanilla and a pale, savoury, almost delicate wine. Modern producers favour French oak and shorter ageing, which gives darker fruit and firmer structure. Neither is more authentic; they are different wines from the same grape.

In Ribera del Duero the altitude changes everything. Vineyards above 800 metres experience swings of twenty degrees between day and night, which preserves acidity and thickens skins, producing wines that are darker, more tannic and more concentrated than Rioja at the same price.

It is also a remarkably versatile food wine, in large part because its moderate tannin and savoury, leather-and-tobacco character sit comfortably alongside cured meat, roast lamb and hard sheep's cheese — the food it evolved next to.