Tempranillo: taste, styles and the dishes that match
25 styles and 425 dish scores from our sommelier database
Tempranillo belongs to the grapes every wine lover meets sooner or later. This guide lays out what defines the grape, which styles exist and — based on our sommelier scoring — which dishes it performs best with, Rump steak with mushrooms leading the list.
Taste profile (Wine DNA)
Averaged across the styles in our database, Tempranillo shows fresh acidity, is full-bodied and clearly fruity, with soft tannins.
Well-known Tempranillo styles
- Rioja Crianza · Rioja — medium-bodied, fresh acidity, soft tannins, subtle oak notes
Flavourful Spanish Tempranillo from Rioja combining ripe red fruit with a touch of vanilla from oak ageing. - Rioja Reserva · Rioja — medium-bodied, fresh acidity, soft tannins, generous oak ageing
Oak- and bottle-aged Rioja from Tempranillo showing savoury spice, earth and vanilla complexity. - Rioja Gran Reserva · Rioja — medium-bodied, fresh acidity, soft tannins, generous oak ageing
Long-aged flagship Rioja from Tempranillo with seamless earthy, spicy and mature complexity. - Tempranillo Spain modern style · Spain — medium-bodied, fresh acidity, soft tannins, subtle oak notes
Entry level qualities of red wine from this grape variety, often Spanish. - Tempranillo-Rhône blend · Spain — medium-bodied, fresh acidity
Entry level red wines that are blends of tempranillo and Rhône valley grape varieties like grenache, syrah, carignan and mourvèdre. - Tempranillo · New World — medium-bodied, fresh acidity, subtle oak notes
Licht kruidige rode wijn van de gelijknamige druivensoort. - Tempranillo Jovén · Spain — medium-bodied, pronounced freshness
Vaak met maceration carbonique techniek gemaakte rode wijnen met een licht, soepel en zeer fruitig karakter.
Price-wise Tempranillo covers the full range: of the 25 styles in our database, 56% sit in the entry segment, 36% mid-range and 8% at the top end. You will find both a weekday bottle and a cellar-worthy wine in this grape.
The best-scoring dishes with Tempranillo
The dishes below come from our expert scoring: every combination was scored by sommeliers using the Wine DNA of both dish and wine. These are the strongest matches for Tempranillo styles, from classic to surprising.
- Rump steak with mushrooms — best style: Rioja Crianza
- Fried duck breast with red port sauce — best style: Tempranillo Spain modern style
- Duck Breast with Cranberries — best style: Tempranillo Spain modern style
- Beef carpaccio — best style: Rioja Crianza
- Steak tartare — best style: Rioja Crianza
- Fried beef fillet with blue cheese salad — best style: Rioja Crianza
- Beef Carpaccio with Pesto — best style: Rioja Crianza
- Rundercarpaccio met Pesto — best style: Rioja Crianza
- Rund carpaccio met pestomayonaise — best style: Rioja Crianza
- Chili con carne — best style: Tempranillo Spain modern style
- Braised veal cheek — best style: Tempranillo Spain modern style
- Goulash — best style: Tempranillo Spain modern style
Want to know if a specific bottle of Tempranillo matches your dish? Scan the label in the SommelierX app and see the match instantly.
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Frequently asked questions
- What does Tempranillo taste like?
- Averaged across the styles in our database, Tempranillo shows fresh acidity, is full-bodied and clearly fruity, with soft tannins. It varies by style: see the overview above.
- What food goes with Tempranillo?
- The highest scores in our sommelier work: Rump steak with mushrooms, Fried duck breast with red port sauce, Duck Breast with Cranberries. The full list is above.
- Is Tempranillo a red wine?
- In our database Tempranillo is mostly made as a red wine (25 linked styles); regional exceptions exist.