Cellar Reserve Tempranillo
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 3–8 years from vintage release.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Tapas, roasted lamb shoulder, wood-fired mushroom pizza
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Penfolds Cellar Reserve range serves as an innovative playground for the winemaking team to step outside the traditional house style and explore alternative grape varieties. First released in the early 2000s, the Cellar Reserve Tempranillo is a brilliant testament to this spirit of experimentation. Sourced primarily from select vineyards in South Australia's warmer regions like McLaren Vale, where the Mediterranean climate mimics the grape's Spanish homeland, this wine captures the vibrant, savory essence of Tempranillo. Unlike the heavy American oak influence seen in traditional Penfolds classics, the Tempranillo is typically matured in seasoned French oak barriques. This approach preserves the grape's signature dusty, fine-grained tannins, bright cherry fruit, and complex notes of sarsaparilla, dried herbs, and leather, offering a contemporary Australian expression of an Old World classic.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Founded in 1844 by Dr. Christopher and Mary Penfold at Magill Estate near Adelaide, Penfolds is one of Australia's oldest and most iconic wineries, now headquartered in Nuriootpa, South Australia. The estate is celebrated for pioneering a unique house style centered on multi-regional and multi-vineyard blending, a philosophy perfected by legendary winemaker Max Schubert in the mid-20th century. Penfolds is globally renowned for its robust, structured red wines aged in premium oak, most notably its flagship Grange—a rich, collectible Shiraz-based blend—alongside acclaimed expressions like Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz and Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, while maintaining its deep South Australian roots, the producer has expanded its winemaking footprint to include exceptional terroirs in California, Bordeaux, and beyond.