Robert, what do you think of the Booker?
Sorry but ummm the irony, Spaniards using American oak and Americans using French. SO much for history!
But this is part of what I was looking for.
For Iberian cultivars in California one must first look to Bokisch Vineyards.
I sold just about all of my Booker stock years ago as my buying and drinking habits moved almost exclusively to the old world. I kept the Tempranillo as a curiosity, but have yet to try it. Hopefully I can put it to good use.
I’ve enjoyed the Villa Creek Mas de Maha Tempranillo blend that Chris and Brett mentioned back in the 2011 entries. More recently…I’ve only opened one, but thought the 2013 Ferdinand Tempranillo from Evan Frazier was very good and showed a lot of promise. It improved over three nights, so decided to try to hold off the next bottle for a couple of years. Also have the '14 but have not opened one. From Ann Kraemer’s Shake Ridge Vineyard in Amador. Don’t recall the stats on the '13, but Evan’s web site shows the '14 being aged for 20 months in 10% new French oak, containing 5% Graciano, and clocking in at 13.8% ABV (a remaining bottle of the '13 shows 14.1% for that vintage). Evan also makes an excellent Albarino under the Ferdinand label. Both are worth checking out.
Cheers, ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Steve
Enriquez Estate
Epoch’s are solid. I haven’t come across anything else I’d want to consume…from a production standpoint, why go all in for something that will be a hard sell and make less money? Sure there are exceptions here and there like what SQN does with Rhones, but Spain’s varietals are even more a stretch and a probable way to waste money…so you’ll see a few pet projects and a couple people trying to do something different, but as of yet there isn’t a compelling reason for a big timer to push a moderate production grown with boutique care…
FWIW we use predominantly French Oak, there may be a couple of AO hanging around yet, but everything else is French.
+1 on the Epoch. Love their Tempranillo. And if you want to try other New World, but maybe not just CA, I’d try the Cayuse Impulsivo (Washington). Another stunner if you can handle the price point.
There are two that he makes as well. The “Pretty Horses” which is light and one of the most quaffable wines I’ve had in a long time. Light, lots of raspberry, cherry and strawberry. Amazing QPR. He also makes a “Shake Ridge” from Amador County which is much more serious and structured.
That ‘Pretty Horses’ Tempranillo is just so good and you described it perfectly, Rob. I hope John continues to make it.
The Enfield Pretty Horses got some good press late last year: http://punchdrink.com/articles/the-25-essential-wines-best-wine-2016/
Thanks for posting the Link David,
I do think Tempranillo has some real potential in California. In many ways it can capture some of the things I like about “ripe” California Pinot - deep sweet spice, black fruit and lightness of being - but without the cloying sweetness and lack of structure. It’s honestly the wine we open the most at home because it is such a great food wine.
I’m not sure it will ever break through into the mainstream though. The grape needs so much time it’s a tough economic sell for domestic producers who are typically under much more economic pressure to grow. Our “Pretty Horses” which is our lighter fresher Tempranillo still spends 14 months in barrel, and Shake Ridge spends 2 years in barrel and a year in bottle which is a lot for a $35 bottle of wine.
David, it is true I have not been using any new wood since 2013 (there was 1 new barrel on the Shake Ridge) and I have been slowly reducing the barrel aging protocol - experimenting with some extended maceration to soften the tannins and mature the fruit, but both wines do typically see more than 12 months in barrel. The 2015 Pretty Horses saw only 10 months, so that will be a real test. I do also use a small percentage of American Oak and in at least two vintages the AO barrel has been my favorite. There is a definite synergy there, but the flavor is really intense and so I prefer to keep it as just a component of the wine.
Thanks John. I was likely misremembering from your interview with Levi Dalton. My mistake for not checking.
+1 on Enfield Pretty Horses
I would like to think that most of the West Coast would have better luck with a variety grown in the Iberian Peninsula - sort of along the same Latitudes. 
Curran (Kris Curran’s eponymous winery in Santa Barbara County) makes a very good Tempranillo that is both killer QPR (I think I’ve paid $15-22 for it, full list price may be mid to high $20s) and pretty ageworthy. It’s clean and pure fruit, without much oak and without high alcohol. I’ve had many bottles of the 2008 in the last couple of years and they’re going very strong.
Twisted Oak The Spaniard.
The blend is usually comprised of about 65% Tempranillo and equal amounts of Graciano and Garnacha.
Since this thread has been resurrected we have an opportunity to introduce new wines. 2013 Playground Cellars Paso Robles Single Vineyard Tempranillo. 50 cases made. Mighty tasty.