Cliffs Wine Picks – Vivanco Rioja Wines

This is based on samples provided by Foundations Marketing Group, NYC.

2015 Dinastía Vivanco Rioja Blanco

2012 Dinastía Vivanco Rioja Crianza Selección de Familia

Vivanco’s history began 100 years ago when Pedro Vivanco González, started to make wines with grapes from a small vineyard that the family had in Alberite, La Rioja, Spain.

A MAN AND HIS VISION (from the winery)

A humble, amiable, conciliatory man, our father Pedro Vivanco Paracuellos began delivering wine on a bicycle in Logroño when he was 14 years old. Business grew quickly and soon he upgraded to a lorry, enabling him to deliver wine across La Rioja and surrounding provinces. It was on that road that he truly came to love wine. And he decided then, that if he did not start studying, he would not be able to devote his life to his passion. So he went to Requena and earned a degree in Oenology. He went on to purchase his first vineyard where our winery, museum and restaurant have since been built. We have been blessed, the business thrived and our family became even more immersed in Rioja wine culture. Wine made us who we are today and we believe we have the obligation to pay it back. With that focus in mind Bodegas Vivanco was officially born in 2004.

Much more information on the family, region and their wines is available on their website.

My line up for this tasting:

my-line-up

2015 Dinastía Vivanco Rioja Blanco

This unique wine is a blend of:

50% Viura: The main white grape variety grown in Rioja, it produces fruity wines with floral aromas and remarkable acidity, ideal for making both young and aged whites. Their Viura vineyards are located in Briones, Rioja Alta.

35% Tempranillo Blanco: This grape variety comes from a natural genetic mutation found in a single cane of a red Tempranillo vine, discovered in an old vineyard in Murillo de Río Leza (La Rioja) in 1988. It has a fruity, intense aroma of bananas, citrus fruit and tropical fruit with floral notes. It does not exist anywhere else in the world.

15% Maturana Blanca: It is the oldest grape variety to have a written record in Rioja, being mentioned in a text dating to 1622. Maturana Blanca wines are a greenish yellow, with fruity aromas of apples, bananas and citrus fruit underscored by grassy notes. It does not exist anywhere else in the world.

Each grape variety was vinified separately. After a brief cold maceration of the whole grape clusters (between 10-12 hours), the free-run must was fermented in small stainless steel tanks at controlled temperatures (12-15 °C) to retain its full varietal expression. The wines remained in contact with their lees in stainless steel tanks for 4 months to preserve the varietal aromas against oxidation and give them greater harmony and unctuousness in mouth.

The bottle was inspired in an original eighteenth-century bottle that is on exhibit at the Vivanco Museum of the Culture of Wine.

The wine is a light yellow color with a slight green tint. The intriguing nose has apples, white peaches, dusty minerals, orange blossoms, bananas, leafy herbs and pineapple. This seems totally dry with medium body and very nice acidity. On the palate tart apples, white peaches and minerals grab your attention on the front end with orange blossoms and a hint of pineapple coming in later. The finish has nice length with a pleasing herbal providing nice depth. This has great balance and it loaded with fruity elements with just enough savory notes to provide interest. This is really nice and I’d love to have a few bottles in my cellar for lighter meals on the deck on a sunny day. This has 13% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a plastic stopper. (92 pts)

2015 Dinastía Vivanco Rioja Blanco

2012 Dinastía Vivanco Rioja Crianza Selección de Familia

This wine is 100% Tempranillo. The vines are 15 to 20 years old from the vineyard in Briones, Rioja Alta.

After hand picking in early October, the grapes were placed in a cold room for 36 hours before being processed on the sorting table. After mild crushing, the grapes were fed by gravity into small French oak vats where they fermented and were left to macerate for 20 days in contact with the skins at a controlled temperature of 28 °C with light pumpovers. The wine was aged for 16 months in French and American oak barrels, with periodic rackings. After bottling, the wines were aged for an additional 6 months before being released.

The wine is a bright ruby violet red color. The inviting nose has cherries, baking spices, dry underbrush, stony minerals, dead wood embers, white pepper, licorice and wild flowers. This has medium body with moderate tannins and good acidity. On the palate bright cherries, minerals, white pepper and baking spices jump out quickly on the front end with dried herbs and a nice floral note coming in on the back end. The juicy finish has very nice length. I think this could take another year or two in the cellar to help the finish fill out. That said, it’s already very tasty in a slightly rustic style. This has 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork. (90 pts)

2012 Dinastía Vivanco Rioja Crianza Selección de Familia

Conclusion

These were both very good wines that will appeal to all wine lovers. In my case, I loved the unique blend and flavor profile of the white wine. These are both well worth your time and deserve a place in your cellar.

Vivanco wines are imported to the United States by Opici Imports and represented by Foundations Marketing Group, NYC.

Connect with me

You can follow me on Twitter for more wine info, potential food pairings, and an occasional recipe or two. Be warned, I’m also a sports fan and there are occasional Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates tweets. I attended the University of South Carolina, so during football season, there will also be some Gamecock posts.

I post a lot more pictures and pairing suggestions on my Instagram account, consider joining me at https://www.instagram.com/cbbrown3/

If you like this post, consider joining Cliffs Wine Picks Wine Blog on Facebook and giving me a Like.

Cheers!

* Shameless Self Promotion *

Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

Breaking news from Klout:

Klout

Cliff’s Wine Picks mentions or other posts

Here are posts, newsletters, blogs or other articles that either mention this site or that I have written:

Click here or on the “Cliff’s Wine Picks On Other Sites” link in the top right corner to see links to other sites that either have my reviews, my thoughts or other posts I have written.

Remember to support your local wine store!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines. I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar. I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com. Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear. There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase. I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but always check out the sale and close out items when in a store. Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges. None of the prices include the sales tax.

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.