A perfectly suited Mediterranean variety.

Tempranillo

Due to the mild, ocean influenced Mediterranean climate of McLaren Vale, a wide range of grape varieties grow well here. Tempranillo is widely grown in Spain where the climate and conditions can be much hotter than McLaren Vale. Its suitability for McLaren Vale is actually increasing as we experience hotter conditions with more heat events during the growing and ripening seasons. With only a few years of experience working with this variety, I've found that it becomes flavour ripe at a lower sugar level, which translates to lower alcohol in the bottle. This bright fruity young red is 1% alcohol lower than the other red wines I produce. The flavours and textures of Tempranillo work very well with a broad range of foods.

Style features

Youthful violet colour with a fleshy texture and bright earthy strawberry fruit flavours.

Vintage Rating

9/10. About as good as McLaren Vale gets.

Food Matching

Drink now with lamb shanks, burgers, sticky pork ribs or fat Italian sausages. Or with some time in the cellar, you could enjoy it with rare aged grass fed Angus, rack of lamb or brisket sliders.

When to drink

Drink now to 2027.

Why the name?

‘Conejo Joven’ (pronounce ‘j’ like ‘h’) is Spanish for ‘Young Rabbit’. A long time coming, this wine completes my immediate family of wines! Named for my son Tobias, who is a Golden Rabbit in Chinese Astrology. Rabbits are lucky, don’t take unnecessary risks, are polite, peaceful and funny. They are also meticulous and clean (perhaps Tobias will grow into these traits!). In many ways, these characters reflect this wine. Clean, familiar and friendly – definitely a no risk wine to open with many foods. It has a bright, exciting edge to it. Give it a go, I’m sure it will be your new favourite!

Pronounced ‘tem-pra-nee-yo’

REVIEWS & AWARDS

Quite a meaty nose with marmalade-like notes – very Rioja-like! Soft and fresh in the mouth with a vibrancy of fruit flavours and good tannin/acid balance.

98 Points / 5 Stars Winestate Magazine. winestate.com.au

This is a nice little addition to the growing range of European styled red wines found around the country with fruit and power dialled down a touch, the result being casual wines well suited to a meal. This is your classic Joven Tempranillo, with delicious fruit purity and generosity of mulberry and dark cherry aromas with nice touches of spice and tobacco. There is then a good mouthful of fruit to begin before tightening up a little to quite a long and savoury finish. Not a serious wine but absolutely hits the spot for good mid-week drinking.

92 Points, Angus Hughson, winepilot.com

“This Joven Tempranillo has me thinking of chargrilled beef burgers and I’m not talking about HJs or Burger King. There is an unmissable meatiness and char factor ready to unleash itself on you. Winemaker Scott Heinrich suggests taco night is the go. Either way, you win.

Strawberry and raspberry fruit knit themselves between an earthiness, fine spices and those charry feels. A terrific food wine, there is an ease to its presence in the mouth as it flows through leaving some fine spices to peruse. Large pours come easy with wines like this. It will even take a slight chill. Now, where is that burger?

Drink to three years.”

92 Points, Steve Leszczynski, QWine reviews, February 2022

Sale