Tempranillo is responsible for Spanish Rioja.  Tempranillo wines have notes of cherry, spice, vanilla, and high acidity.  The Tempranillo grape grows all over Spain.  In Castilla y Leon locals know Tempranillo wines as Tinto Fino or Tinto del Pais. It also shows up most famously in the red wines of Ribero del Duero, where Tempranillo soaks up the summer heat and translates it into hearty red wines supported by Tempranillo's vibrant acidity.  Merlot's juicy fruit is often used to balance Tempranillo wines acidic character. Both Toro and Ribera del Duero are within Castilla y Leon, but here the locals refer to Tempranillo as Tinto del Toro.  Humidy makes the Tempranillo grapes very, very ripe, creating rustic wines as full of cherry flavor as they are alcohol—16 percent isn't uncommon.  In Argentina Jose Zuccardi at Santa Julia is making headway in Tempranillo bottlings.  In California EXP, Clos du Bois, Baywood, and Stevenot are making excellent Tempranillo wines. Australian vintners are making noise about Tempranillo too, citing similarities between the climate of Ribera del Duero and the Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills