Chester Osborn was one of the first growers to plant Tempranillo in McLaren Vale. This torrid Spanish grape is well suited to the Mediterranean climes of the region and a traditional blending partner for some of d'Arenberg's favourite old world styles. Grenache and Tempranillo work beautifully together, the Portuguese mix of Tinta Cao and Souzao provide wonderful complexity and depth. And the quirky name? Sticks and stones may break bones but will never hurt, in truth, much of the fruit is picked off sticks planted to parched, stony soils.

A topical field blend of Tempranillo, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, all hand picked and individually berry sorted prior to a light carbonic maceration and natural ferment in the Beaujolais style. Aged ten months in a single French oak vat, this west coast blend captures and expresses the magnificence of Swan River Valley. A sweet and savoury nose of satsuma plums, rosewater and black olives, a mere sprinkle of aniseed, its fresh and lively palate of pomegranates, cocao and maraschino fruits, supported by the rakish elegance of Tempranillo’s coal dust tannin structure.

Established 1889, the winemaking heritage of Martínez Bujanda has consistently relied on the family belief, as growers, that great wine is made in the vineyard. After nearly a hundred years as mainstay grapegrower of the Rioja region, the family began construction of their own winemaking operation, Bodegas Valdemar. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Conde de Valdemar pioneered modernity in the Rioja region's wines. Martínez Bujanda gives great consideration to vineyard selection, in a quest to encapsulate the fine and unique expressions that the wonderful Rioja winegrowing region has on offer.

The greater Rioja D.O.C is divided into the superior winegrowing appellations Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja. Each region and vineyard expresses different terroirs and clime. The high altitude Rioja Alta is known for fruit of remarkable acidity and sound structure for ageing. Rioja Alavesa produces wines with a wonderful finesse and elegance of character. The estate of Martínez Bujanda maintains a spectacular legacy of vineyards within the most prestigious precincts. Treated to an extended term of age in a selection of the finest French and American oak barriques.

A mostly Tempranillo wine with a portion of Mazuelo from exclusively Bodegas Valdemar estate vineyards. Dark cherry red with violet/ purple hues. Intense aromas, the ripe fruit is well integrated into mellow background oak, seasoned by attractive spice notes. Meaty and full of flavour, the well defined characters of Rioja, within a palate that's driven by Martínez Bujanda's fresh, fruit forward styling. A fine length of supportive tannins, all the way to a long, fruit filled finish. A match to all good roasts, juicy red meats or wild game, charcuterie and mature cheese.

Just like a scene out of the old world, you can see happy families amongst the picturesque landscape of King Valley, tending vines and sampling grapes. The annual Spring festival in November brings everyone together for a fantastic jubilee of events. Tempranillo grows magnificently here, yielding fine wines as fleshy and structured as the classics from Rioja and Ribero de Duero. Harvests of fruit, brimming with rich bramble favours and lined with gentle tannins are crafted into a delicious new world style, just perfect to match with flavoursome Mediterranean fare.

The unique qualities of Tempranillo can be attributed to it's engrossing varietal charms and effusive personality. Elevated slopes and ancient soils at a spectacular site in the Mt Torrens area of Adelaide Hills provide the ideal harsh conditions to infuse character. A backbone of fruit grown to good vineyards in McLaren Vale offers varietal potency and assertive character. Chapel Hill exudes savoury olive and bay complexities of Mediterranean influence, vibrant dark berry characters are supported by a deeply flavoured palate and chewy, mouth filing tannins.

Crafted from parcels of hand picked Tempranillo grapes, grown to the exquisite Mazza Vineyard at Donneybrook, an hour's drive northeast of Margaret River. The greater Geographe region has been an essential component in west coast wines for many vintages, the quality of harvests rival her salubrious neighbours. An eloquent articulation of a splendid terroir and the fruit of closely cossetted vines, its classic old world savouriness, gardeniere complexity and light fresh tannins make Empirica the first choice alongside crackling pork or supple lamb recipes.

Calo Rioja is a modern and expressive Tempranillo created by third generation winemaker Javier Murua. In keeping with the new wave of rejuvenating wines sweeping Rioja, Murua avoids the traditional long maturation in old oak to focus on fruit vibrancy and purity of clean varietal characters. The moniker Calo is evocative of the wandering caravan folk who lead the liberated lifestyle, free to indulge in their pursuit of epicurean delights and long, languid libations. A sublime match to tapas, oven hot bread and Iberian cheese.

It's a bit of an enduring truism along the banks of Bremer River, that you need double letters in your name to qualify as a Langhorne Creek winemaker. Viz the Willson sisters, the Messrs Potts and Blass. Outstanding quality fruit and excellence in the art of vinification are essential too. The Willson family had been selling their grapes to the nation's most conspicuous brands, before they took the plunge to retain the best of harvest for their own label. Graciano is oft blended with suave and stylish Tempranillo, to fashion the most engaging and topical wines in Rioja.

Juan Gil Familiares are a company of small independent estates, specializing in vintages of artisanally crafted, limited release wines. Membership is by invitation only, a bespoke club of vignerons, committed to the restoration of precious old sites which may otherwise be unviable. From limited harvests of old and very old vines Tempranillo, some over a century of age, grown to the Zamora precincts of El Pego and Villanueva de Campeán, a powerful wine of intense savoury complexity, layers of bramble fruit flavours, judicious tannins and charming old world oak.

Dedication to the revival and husbandry of wayward old vineyards are essential to the wines of Bodegas Tridente. There are some forty evocative and inspiring parcels of Tempranillo throughout Castilla y León which contribute fruit, all are superior, Rejón is the oldest and most distinguished, 130 years of age near the hamlet of El Pego. The precious grapes are all hand sorted and hand picked, the best bunches are fermented in small traditional vats and filled to the finest French oak barriques for an extended term of twenty months maturation.

From hand picked parcels of Tempranillo grapes, grown to traditionally managed Vaso vineyards on the ancient viticultural precincts of El Pego and Villanueva de Campean within the province of Zamora. An elegant nose of fresh fruit bouquets, berries and varietal leaf, minarets of turkish coffee and exotic roasted spice. Rich and muscular palate of blueberry and dark fruits confiture, offering racy graphite and espresso notes, supported by piquant licorice tannins and a thinly veiled hint of oak, before a ripe finish of chocolate and freshly milled spice.

An exclusively Tempranillo wine, Bodega Alion caused a great stir amongst the industry press after their inaugural release. Fruit is collated from the most splendid vineyards along Ribera Del Duero, treated to a traditional, old world vinification, followed by a term of extravagant new oak maturation and a year or more in the stillness of the bottle before release. A refined Spaniard of the most opulent and intense character, a complex and well fleshed wine, distinguished by its elegance, seamlessness and remarkable structure.

A pure Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) wine from vineyards adjacent the Bodega Alion wineworks and from mother company Vega Sicilia's own estate properties at Valbuena. Alion is crafted in the modern Bordeaux cru classe style, using up to date equipment and lots of new French oak.

A mix of Temparanillo, Grenache and Mazuelo, from Rioja D.O.C. along Ebro River. Bodegas Age was established in 1881 from the legacy of three ancient family cellars with a long tradition of winemaking. Their distinguished origins are there to be seen in the ancient wineworks of Don Felix de Azpilicueta and in the bodega's paradise, where bottles of the earliest wines are still cellared. The estate remains family owned and operated, the traditional winemaking has ensured Siglo endures as an international ambassador of Bodegas Age.

Crafted at the Finca Constancia wineworks near Otero in the province of Toledo, a Media crianza pure varietal wine that's well suited to the Australian palate. Gourmet Traveler has distinguished Altozano with a string of rave reviews and a huge 94 point rating in a blind line up of Spanish and Aussie Tempranillos. A silky smooth table red with a taste of chocolate and dark cherries, a touch of spice. Friendly to food and highly approachable. Perfect balance is achieved after a spell of oak barrel, which has served to tame the lascivious fruit.

Bodega Alion is a stylistically and regionally significant wine, adapted to the international taste at the end of the millennium, shaped by a standard of quality that knows no bounds, but which bears the mark of the character and personality of the River Duero whence it originates.

Bodega Alion was born of noble parentage next to the River Duero, its very beginnings boasted the aromas and tastes of a wine that was open, modern and attractive, full of strength and exuberance, with the exclusive expression of the Tempranillo grape.

Bodega Alion caused quite a stir when it was inaugurally released. Aficionados of the mother winery Vega Sicilia's established style rejected the more modern, newly oaked, wider Ribera Del Duero delineation of Alion. It has since become a regional classic.