Kelly and I dined at a spectacular Southwestern (Santa Fe) restaurant here in town called Agave on Saturday evening. It was the fourth or fifth time we have enjoyed their hospitality, but this visit was notable for the outstanding red wine suggested by our server: Tittarelli Tempranillo Reserva 2003. We were told that the grape was originally grown in Spain, in the area of Rioja. It has only recently been resurrected as a wine grape, due to the overwhelming demand for Argentinean wines forced the rediscovery of the potential of this grape.
Its flavor is BIG, with aggressive tannins, but is well-balanced, and aromatic. Very velvety mouth-feel with notes of wild fruit, black plums, cherries and raspberries. Gives a good buzz.
It was $35 at the restaurant, so I suspect it can be purchased in the $15-20 range at a jug shop. I highly recommend it!
Here is a link to a site about this region: http://www.welcomeargentina.com/vino/index_i.html
RectorSite 
Yo unk T,
Next time yer hospitalitized by Agave, tell the waiter that Tempranillo is about as “… recently ressurected as a wine grape….” as Merlot or Syrah. Perhaps he meant that Temperanillo has only been recently used to produce single-variety wines, following the new American model of wine-making, mainly in Argentina (altho also in Spain). Or maybe he just hasn’t bothered to do his homework (a.k.a. is full of shit). Here’s an address that might interest him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempranillo
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