Tempranillo

Tempranillo is our flagship, and perhaps the most exciting grape variety in the world today. It is Spain’s great red grape, but one whose appeal is increasingly recognised by winemakers around the world.

We first planted Tempranillo in 2000, in a section of the vineyard known as Rock Block. Already celebrated in Spain for producing outstanding wines of depth and structure, Tempranillo seemed particularly well suited to the Canberra District. Our continental climate, with its pronounced differences between day and night temperatures and between summer and winter, mirrors conditions in some of Spain’s finest Tempranillo-growing regions.

Our first vintage in 2003 was a revelation. Unlike anything else we were producing at the time, the wine combined remarkable perfume with intensity, depth and structure. More than two decades later, it still drinks beautifully — a testament to Tempranillo’s ageing potential and the reason we continue to craft our wines with longevity in mind.

Our small initial planting of Tempranillo was quickly expanded. In 2004 we grafted a nearby patch of pinot noir to create what we now call the ‘Little Dam’ block, and in 2009 we commenced grafting and replanting merlot, in a patch we now call ‘Dry Spur’.  Further plantings were added in The Valley block in 2021.  Tempranillo has become the most important variety at Mount Majura Vineyard, covering 17% of our 14 hectares.

As our plantings expanded, so did the opportunity to experiment with blending. In 2008, we trialled combinations from every barrel of red wine in the winery, searching for a blend worthy of standing alongside our Tempranillo. One combination stood out, and TSG was born.

Tempranillo leads the blend, bringing dark fruit and structure, while Shiraz adds richness and depth to the mid-palate, and Graciano contributes spice and freshness. Bringing together three of the finest red varieties grown on our site, TSG is more than the sum of its parts — a wine that speaks not of any one grape, but of the vineyard itself.

What excites us most about Tempranillo, both as a single variety and in our TSG blend, is its remarkable ability to express a sense of place. It produces wines not only of exceptional quality, but also of distinctive character and personality.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the three individual sites within our vineyard, each consistently producing Tempranillo with its own distinctive character. Since 2013, whenever quality and quantity permit, we have bottled small parcels from these sites separately, typically just one or two barrels, alongside their contribution to our flagship Tempranillo.

Rock Block, our original Tempranillo planting, typically displays lush fruit and generous perfume, influenced in part by the surrounding trees. Dry Spur tends towards a more savoury character, with a grainier tannin structure, while Little Dam offers distinctive violet notes and a dense concentration of exceptionally fine tannins.

Together, these three wines offer a fascinating insight into how differences in soil and aspect, across just a few hundred metres of vineyard, can produce remarkably different expressions of the same variety. This is Tempranillo expressing our terroir.

Our dedication to Tempranillo has not gone unnoticed. In 2019, respected wine critic Huon Hooke described Mount Majura as “Australia’s leading tempranillo vineyard”. More recently, our 2024 Little Dam Tempranillo was ranked #1 of 43 Australian Tempranillos from the 2024 vintage tasted by The Real Review — further recognition of the quality and distinctive character of Tempranillo grown at Mount Majura.