It seems that in many new world wine regions there is a tendency for winegrowers to plant what they like. Over the decades they pull out the grapes that didn’t perform as well as expected and begin to search for varieties that may do better. Winegrowers in Texas followed a similar path. Now they have a better understanding of what grows well in their state. One of those varieties is Tempranillo.

Gene and Judy Estes at their Post Oak Vineyard in Burleson, Texas grow Tempranillo and believe the variety produces quality grapes. They are the current owners of Lone Oak Winery, also in Burleson, south of the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. We acquired a bottle of the 2008 Lone Oak Winery Tempranillo from Russ Kane at the 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference.

The wine was a dark ruby with a granite rim. The aroma offered dark fruit and tobacco while blackberries and cherries were predominant on the taste. Mild tannins on the finish were accompanied by fruit yielding to a tobacco, leather aftertaste. I enjoyed this Tempranillo and believe Texas may have a winner with the varietal grape.

Cheers,
Terry