When blind tasting Tempranillo from Southern Oregon, I sometimes wonder if someone is messing with me by including a Bordeaux. Here’s a Tempranillo that is dark garnet and its lovely aroma combines ripe dark cherry with some dried herbs, cigar box, and vanilla. But what seemed like a Bordeaux or Cabernet soon asserts its own personality in a medium bodied package that is lively with definite cherry fruit rounded by a leathery aftertaste. The nuanced flavors, polished tannins and balancing acidity make this attractive and distinct. It is 90% Tempranillo with 8% Cabernet that was wild yeast fermented and aged for 21 months in American oak, 29% new.
2-Hawk Vineyard & Winery, Rogue Valley (Oregon) Tempranillo 2019
By Norm Roby