A Love Letter to Tempranillo

My Beloved Tempranillo,

I write this love letter as I sit here and reminisce on our previous encounters.  The first day we met,  I was in college and on a budget.  You too were in your youth, young and fruity, just a “Joven” from Rioja.  Our first encounter was love at first sight.  I can still smell your intoxicating strawberry aromas.

I later came across you again, I had started working at a Nuevo Latino restaurant and my sommelier added you by the glass.  I knew then that you were a one guy kind of grape.  You were still in Rioja, but this time you were a little better dressed and the bottle I served you from said “Reserva”.  This encounter was a little different from our first.  Your aromas were still of strawberry fruits but there was this toasty coconut and vanilla undertone that made my heart leap. (more…)