2013 Parador Cellars Tempranillo Napa Valley 750 ml

There’s nothing like discovering the fruits of a successful experiment in our own backyard, but this Tempranillo from one of the most sought-after vineyards in Napa Valley sets a whole new bar for what’s possible in our home terroir. As enchantingly aromatic as it is dark and powerful, this 2013 Parador Cellars Tempranillo is so good, it almost makes you second guess Cabernet Sauvignon’s claim to the Napa throne.

Especially when you consider the price. A Decanter 95-point Napa red as low as $38 (37% off its $60 SRP)? That’s more than a successful experiment. That’s a head-spinning victory by our standards.  

Inspired by the great Tempranillos of Spain, this 2013 Parador was gracefully aged before its release, resulting in captivating spice and dried purple flower aromas as you might experience while traipsing around wild berry fields. Complex and layered with its seven years of maturity, the commanding palate ascends into dried strawberry, leather, and cigar box before leveling off into a long and seductive finish that promises another fifteen years of life ahead.

It actually makes perfect sense that Tempranillo would do well in Napa, given its climate. In Northern California, the rain mainly just stays away—at least for much of the growing season, which works to Tempranillo’s advantage as an early-ripening variety (temprano means “early” in Spanish, which is how the grape got its name).

Inspired by wines that have become legends in the Ribera del Duero, such as Vega Sicilia and Pesquera, winemaker Stephen Ventrello’s goal was to create a New World brother to those famed bodegas. He looked to pockets of Napa where the hardiest red grape varieties had done especially well—enter Stagecoach Vineyard.

Soaring over 1,800 feet above the valley floor, Stagecoach’s premium soils extend from the craggy terrain of Pritchard Hill overlooking Oakville to the westernmost regions of the Atlas Peak appellation. A wild, rugged site full of rocky volcanic terroir made fragrant with wild herbs and dotted with rare native plants, the vineyard is considered one of the last frontiers of the Napa Valley. After tasting the 2013 Parador, we now consider it Napa’s most compelling answer to Spanish Tempranillo.

Ventrello also treats his Tempranillo like its Spanish Gran Reserva counterparts across the Atlantic in the cellar, aging it for four years in large oak puncheons (to allow the wine to age slower and longer) from harvest to release. As a result, the supremely integrated tannins on this gently aged 2013 Parador provide one of the most articulated expressions of its vintage, about which Robert M. Parker Jr. wrote, “2013 may turn out to be the finest vintage I have experienced in tasting North Coast varietals over the last 37 years,” thanks to the ideal conditions during the growing season and hot, dry harvest. 

Ventrello himself cites 2013 as his greatest harvest since he started.

Napa collectors should be intrigued by this wine based on vintage and vineyard alone. Even in a typical year, the 95-point wines from Stagecoach alone tend to average around $150 a pop, making this $38 Parador Cellars Tempranillo the ultimate way to experience this famous Napa vineyard in 2013 without the standard cost of entry.

The fact that it’s also one of the best Tempranillos you’ll find outside of Spain is just icing on the cake.