Tempranillo
Rioja and Ribera del Duero
Cherry, leather and tobacco, with moderate tannin that takes American oak unusually well.
At harvest
Each bar drawn against the full range of all 54 varieties
Sugar
23-26 Brix
23 - 26
Titratable acidity
4.5-6 g/L
4.5 - 6
pH
3.5-3.8
3.5 - 3.8
Juice yield
0.66 L/kg
free run plus a gentle press
Sugar per kilogram
178 g
at 24.5 Brix, the midpoint
Fruit for 23 litres
35 kg
before racking losses
Potential alcohol
13.5-14.7%
from 1.103 fermented dry. A range, because conversion varies by strain
What it punishes
Low natural acidity. It very often needs a tartaric addition, and the pH is usually the reason a Tempranillo goes wrong microbially.
Made into
- Dry red
- Rose
Sulphite at this pH
At pH 3.65, protecting a red wine to 0.5 mg/L molecular SO2 takes 35 mg/L of free SO2. Work it out for your own reading.
More vinifera red
Cabernet Sauvignon
Bordeaux, and now everywhere warm enough
23-25 BrixMerlot
Right Bank Bordeaux
22-25 BrixCabernet Franc
Loire and Bordeaux
22-25 BrixPinot Noir
Burgundy
23-26 BrixSyrah
Northern Rhone
24-27 BrixGrenache
Southern Rhone and Spain
24-26 BrixMourvedre
Bandol and Spain
24-28 BrixZinfandel
California, and Croatia before that