Truchard Website

The 2006 is $25/bottle from the winery

Truchard Tempranillo 2004 at Snooth

2005 at Snooth (no reviews)

Truchard Vineyard at Yelp

Ken Hoggins interviews Anthony Truchard

All about Truchard with Jo Ann

They were just featured on Rue LaLa. I still can't get over how cheesy that rolls off the tongue.

This is the only Tempranillo, a hot climate varietal (think Spain), that I've ever seen from Carneros, which is famous for being a cool climate appellation. What makes this grape work in that climate?

At $10/btl, with some good reviews on CT and Snooth, this appears to be very good QPR. I could rationalize adding some tempranillo to my cellar, so let's see what the labrats say.

Here's a link to a review of the 2005 someone in Philadelphia picked up for $6.99. He didn't like it even at that price point.

http://www.phillywinefinder.com/2010/10/wine-review-truchard-tempranillo.html

speedoo wrote:At $10/btl, with some good reviews on CT and Snooth, this appears to be very good QPR. I could rationalize adding some tempranillo to my cellar, so let's see what the labrats say.

Truchards are great people and actually very good friends of mine! Over 80% of the fruit they grow goes to many great wineries in Napa. You just wouldn't believe who they sell too. Their cabernets are more European in style because of the cooler climate which makes them most desirable for blending.

Winedrew
These wines are just yummy! BBQ Ribs!

About Tempranillo:

wikipedia

WinePros

winegeeks

winedrew wrote:Truchards are great people and actually very good friends of mine! Over 80% of the fruit they grow goes to many great wineries in Napa. You just wouldn't believe who they sell too. Their cabernets are more European in style because of the cooler climate which makes them most desirable for blending.

Winedrew
These wines are just yummy! BBQ Ribs!

Winedrew you're a delightful chap and all that I'm sure, but can you now and then offer a measured, or even critical opinion? I'd love to hear you rip something apart, even if politely!

I have had this wine. Warning they are very drinkable. This wine goes well with food but is very good on its own. This is a great deal as well.
I just bought wine last week and hope it comes UPS. Fed-ex ground is horrible. They come early in the day m-f only and you can only pick up m-f 9-5. I want to get these but afraid of Fedex.

merbill wrote:This is the only Tempranillo, a hot climate varietal (think Spain), that I've ever seen from Carneros, which is famous for being a cool climate appellation. What makes this grape work in that climate?

Actually, Tempranillo does not like hot dry climates - it does like warm days and cool nights. In Spain that's a relatively high altitude region with cool nights, in California, a place like Carneros or the Petaluma Gap/Sonoma Coast could work well.

I have had a few great Riojas over the years, but I find myself disappointed with most Tempranillo from California. Is this an exception? I don't know.

rpm wrote:Actually, Tempranillo does not like hot dry climates - it does like warm days and cool nights. In Spain that's a relatively high altitude region with cool nights, in California, a place like Carneros or the Petaluma Gap/Sonoma Coast could work well.

I have had a few great Riojas over the years, but I find myself disappointed with most Tempranillo from California. Is this an exception? I don't know.

Rioja is the one ine where fiery tannins and oak really work to a wonderful dark degree. I didn't know it was Tempranillo, but thought it used hotter-climate varietals. Still, rpm will be correct!

Anyway, Are we to compare this to that Twisted Oak or whatever it was Spanish CA wine we had on a month or so back? Is this wine trying to be Spanish in style, or rather from the description perhaps more likely, Tempranilllo trying to pretend to be one of the usual CA grapes?

Good morning everyone! I had the pleasure of getting to be a labrat for this Friday's deal which was very exciting! A fair warning that I have drank a fair amount of wine but am by no means even close to an expert. Also this was my first time trying a Tempranillo style.

I thought the wine was very good. The first thing I noticed was that it is very light for a red. It is easy to drink and my girlfriend and I found that our initial impression of "hmm this is good" grew to "I really like this" pretty quickly.

As for specifics regarding the taste of the wine, all I can say is that it was light and went really well with pasta and vodka sauce. Given its lightness I imagine it could go well with most foods. It is great by itself too as our first glass was pre-dinner. The wine has a very pleasant spice to it that is nice and subtle. The taste lingers a bit and is very nice on the finish. Overall not a very complex wine, but definitely enjoyable!

Hope I could be of some help!

(And I would buy this woot myself if I had not bought the last 2 Friday deals plus the Zins they offered earlier in the week... I am way over my budget!)

edit: I just noticed that the offer is 2 2004 and 2 2005, thought I'd mention that the one I tried was 2004.

Lab Rat Review- 2004

This was my first lab rat assignment- and I really enjoyed this wine (and not just because it was free!).

Now I have to put in the caveat that I'm no wine expert. I've done a few tastings, but that's it. This wine is very fruity, and not too robust and smooth. The reviews, winemaker notes, and woot description say it has a mineral finish, but my palate may not be refined enough to notice that part.

I found it an easy to drink red- my three glasses paired well with pasta, halloween candy, and nothing, respectively. I've never had a Tempranillo before, and although out of the reds usually prefer Syrahs and Zins, much more than Cabernets and Merlots but I really liked this one. I'm actually considering buying it myself, especially at this price.

... pumpkiny not being paid until MONDAY. UGH. My tempranillo glass is lonely.

I'm really thinking about pulling the trigger on this deal. I like reds, I like to try new wine and I really want to buy a wine from Woot!

And this is cheap enough that I'm not paying a lot per bottle.

Thanks rats...in for three. Holidays are near and seeing as this will be here in time for Thanksgiving and we usually end up at three places...

I will probably be in for 2 also, I like BBQ, so then I should buy some so that I make BBQ?

In for this. Thanks Rats for the reports.

First wine.woot!

I had my first Tempranillo earlier this year (a Chilean wine if I remember correctly) and what was supposed to be a glass of wine with dinner turned into drinking the bottle. I loved it and hope these are just as good!


edit: not that it really matters, but the Chilean bottle was a Malbec. The Tempranillo bottle was in fact a Spanish wine.

Pulled the trigger on my first wine Woot. In for 3!

I'm buying it simply because of the Zappa homage. Kudos.

I just bought three for three reasons
1. That was the limit
2. I have had several Truchards in the past and never been disappointed
3. I grow Tempranillo, drink Tempranillo, love Tempranillo

zuht wrote:Truchard Website

The 2006 is $25/bottle from the winery

What's this have to do with anything? 2004 and 2005 are the ones being discussed here. ;)

I'm rather new to the wine scene. I'm seeing a strong trend towards the reds here on Woot. I'm not familiar with Temparillos, but like what I've read. I'm in for 2. Either I like them and wish I went in for 3, or I don't and I've got Christmas gifts!

I had the 2002 for $30 from a local wine shop. I don't like Tempranillo but I liked this, but I thought at $30 it was a little overpriced. It's a huge deal at this price.

Truchard is one of my favorite vintners, along with Cline, McManis, and Beaucannon, I'll try pretty much anything they make. Truchard tends to have more subtlty and less fruit, it's still new world but trends toward old world rather than fruit bombs. Their Syrah and pinot noir are my favorite examples of those varietals out of CA- well, Rochioli makes a better PN but it's double the price and hard to find, so I guess it's the best I know of under $50.

FWIW, a friend of mine (professional chef + in charge of the wine selections for the restaurant he works at) recommended Tempranillo as a good pairing for Thanksgiving turkey.

That, plus the labrattage reports, have me seriously tempted, despite being a tad over-budget thanks to Wednesday's Wellington offering.

Oh, and hello y'all! I'm Ciaran. I'm new to the forum, but not to woot, and definitely new to wine. I look forward to gleaning as much knowledge I can from y'all, and forgive any silly questions I might have down the road.

killroy108 wrote:I'm not familiar with Temparillos, but like what I've read. I'm in for 2. Either I like them and wish I went in for 3, or I don't and I've got Christmas gifts!

Can't argue with that logic killroy. Nor can I argue with my shopping, drinking, or gambling problems (because, yes, this is a gamble). I'm in for two!

Also... that's me below. I made it Mom! I really made it!

Current numbers (updated each minute)
First sucker: mseay
Speed to first woot: 3m 20.523s
Last wooter to woot: ericclem

No Connecticut! I was going to be in

Questions for the winery:
Forgive the machine-gunning nature of these, but I'm not very familiar with Tempranillo (but I do like to say the name) - is it pronounced Tim-pra-nee-yo?

Can it age or should it age? What is your recommended drinking window? For some reason I was thinking these should be consumed young.

How does this varietal compare to other popular California varietals (CS, PN, Merlot, Syrah)?

Truchard's are well respected in the wine community with the vineyard having a high quality reputation among winemakers. I've always enjoyed wines from the Truchard Vneyard.

Labrat Report

Wow, first of all, based on previous rat reports I see I am going to be different. While I enjoyed the final glass of wine more than the first, I did not find this variety to be my cup of tea. I like Syrahs, Pinot Niors and Cabs. I also do not tend to buy budget wines any more thanks to Woot my tastes have moved upwards. So, I did find myself a little intimidated on the tasting note side, I've not EVER done this before.

2005 Truchard Tempranillo

Vineyard description:

A complex nose of ripe plum, cassis, and black cherry; accented with notes of tea, tobacco, and cedar. The mouth is smooth and rich, layered with flavors of red currants, rhubarb, and sweet vanilla. Chalky tannins focus the palate and provide a delicate finish of red fruit, mineral and spice

My Notes:

After 10 minutes in glass (Riedel Vinum Bourdeaux):

Appearance: Very brilliant black cherry color, not very thick, with LOTS of legs. No bubbles or sediment.

Nose: Pomegranate and vanilla. Found this very hard to pull individual scents due to the high alcohol content, had a very astringent nose. Did not find it very pleasant.

Taste: Earth forward, very dry, crisp acidity, tannic, and HOT. Medium body and average complexity. Found the taste harsh, believe this due to alcohol content and need for air. Didn’t find it very balanced.

Overall: Only drank about 2 ounces which took me 20 minutes as I considered my notes. Was not digging this wine. Needs air or decant time.

Bottle now open for 45 minutes. Considered again, and found no real change from above notes. So, I took the remaining 2 ounces of my glass and ran it through my Vinturi and added another 2 ounces from open bottle through Vinturi.

This really did change things for the better.

Nose: No changes to above.

Taste: Only changes from above relate to acidity. Understand that I love acid, so those sensitive to acid keep that in mind as I might rate acidity lower than you. The acidity taste was mellowed by the vinturi, found it vibrant. Found it not a hot this time. I never really know if a wine I find hot on the first glass and less so on the second to be if the wine has changed with decant time or if my state of mind has changed. Either way that always happens for me, so I lean towards it being me not the wine. Balance has improved. Find it average.

Overall: Find it much better than the first glass.

Went and made dinner and finished second half of the above glass. When I had read the yesterday morning email indicating I was selected for a Lab Rat, I pulled a copy of beef tenderloin fillets. So I pan seared the fillets, and sautéed The Touch of Satan (1971)ke (s-h-i-t-a-k-e) mushrooms with some green peas.

Bottle now open for 1 hours and 45 minutes. So, technically this is really only the second glass, as I’ve only drank about 6 oz. of the wine prior to this. It still needed the vinturi. This I found interesting. After almost two hours the wine was still too hot and astringent. The taste notes did not change from the second glass. It was only okay. Was better than average, budget wines.
Would I buy this wine? No Would it make a good Thanksgiving wine? Probably so for folks I know are not wine savy. Wish I could have made a better report.

Rating: 2/5

richardhod wrote:Rioja is the one ine where fiery tannins and oak really work to a wonderful dark degree. I didn't know it was Tempranillo, but thought it used hotter-climate varietals. Still, rpm will be correct!

Anyway, Are we to compare this to that Twisted Oak or whatever it was Spanish CA wine we had on a month or so back? Is this wine trying to be Spanish in style, or rather from the description perhaps more likely, Tempranilllo trying to pretend to be one of the usual CA grapes?

From Sal's audio, it doesn't sound like he's intentionally trying to mimic another varietal. However, a couple of reviews on the web suggest that maybe he did so unintentionally.

And of course, the alcohol ain't shy.

Sal did mention that the vines are grown on a "volcanic ash and rocky knoll" (not sure if those are the exact words). I hope he comes here to answer some of these questions - the wine certainly sounds interesting.

Thanks for all the early rat reports!

Extensive grand tasting notes with the 05 Tempranillo buried amongst...fairly favorable review and some good plugs for the vineyard overall!

Corkd Review - another favorable description for the 05:-)

Thanks Rats for the input - I really do enjoy tempranillo, plus it's one of the varietals that is still relatively undervalued (good stuff cheap is always a win;-). Probably in for one on this!

TheHuntress wrote:Labrat Report

Long, thoughtful, review

Whether one agrees or disagrees with your evaluation, you have clearly done exactly what one should expect from a labrat: you considered the wine very carefully in all of its aspects and described what you perceived over the evening tasting it. You included some (probably enough) information about your own preferences to put your comments in some perspective.

I found some aspects of the review curious, especially that it seemed particularly hot to you. I don't like hot wines, but 14.1% is not particularly hot by current standards, and so that fact that you perceived the alcohol as prominent calls for more consideration of what's going on. Are you particularly sensitive to alcohol levels? What are the wines you ordinarily drink and what are their alcohol levels? I note most red wines on woot are around or north of 14% these days. I also note that you mentioned pronounced astringency. From your review, I think you mean something other than tannin. I find a quality that combines a perception of dryness and astringency in the entry and middle palate typical in all but the fullest bodied Spanish wines - so your perception of something like this in a Tempranillo would make sense. I had wondered whether this is characteristic of the grape, or, like some Italian wines, characteristic of the style and terroir.

At any event, strong kudos for a thoughtful review - and I'm sorry you didn't like it. At least you seem to understand why you didn't like it.

I would find it very interesting to hear from the winery with respect to your review - not as a "refutation" or "defense" but as a thoughtful response to the things you perceived.

I've been to the Truchard Winery - it was by far my favorite stop in wine country. The wines here are all amazing and not overly expensive. I just happened to check in today to see what the deal was and I was thrilled to see this Tempranillo for sale. What a fantastic deal, especially for these vintages. Ready for it to be here soon!!

TheHuntress wrote:Rating: 2/5

Thank you very much for your honesty! Flowery reports only because the bottle was free help no one. And thanks to the two other reporting rats as well.