Cliff's Wine Picks

 

This is based on samples provided by Wining Hour Chat and a bonus bottle from Foundations Marketing Group, NYC.

 

 

2017 Vivanco Rioja Tempranillo-Garnacha Tinta y Blanca Rosado

2011 Vivanco Rioja Reserva

2016 Vivanco Rioja Tempranillo-Garnacha Rosado

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Here was my line up for the #WiningHourChat online tasting:

 

 

 

2017 Vivanco Rioja Tempranillo-Garnacha Tinta y Blanca Rosado

This is a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha Tinta and 5% Garnacha Blanca from estate owned vineyards.

 

The wine is a bright pink salmon color.  The open and giving nose has cherries, strawberries, orange blossoms, melon, white peach and crushed stones.  This has medium body with nice acidity.  On the palate bright red fruit and crushed stones jump out on the front end with orange blossoms and white peach coming in later.  The finish has good length with melon and a hint of leafy green herbs providing nice depth.  I wish it would have been a warm and sunny day since this wine would shine on the deck or patio.  As is, this is an easy wine of kick back and sip with or without food.  This has 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a manmade plastic like closure.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2011 Vivanco Rioja Reserva

This is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano from an estate owned vineyard.  After fermentation, the wine was aged for 24 months in a mix of French and American oak barrels.  The unusual shaped bottle was inspired by an 18th century bottle.

 

The wine is a medium ruby to violet color.  The inviting nose has berries, black cherries, well worn leather, roasted herbs, vanilla bean, plums and tobacco.  This has medium body with soft tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate this shows a nice balance between the up front fruit and the savory notes that are lurking around every corner.  This has nice length but could use a bit more body on the back end.  This is on the young side, if it can add a bit of weight and fill out on the finish this could be a gem in a couple years.  For now it is very enjoyable and easy to sip.  This has 14% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (89 pts)

 

 

2016 Vivanco Rioja Tempranillo-Garnacha Rosado – SRP $15

This is based on a sample provided by the winery or a company representing the winery.

 

This is a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Grenache.  In the past I sampled their white and red Rioja wines and liked them more than the Rosado.  More info on them is available on this site.

 

The wine is a bright salmon pink color.  The alluring nose has cherries, strawberries, orange zest, leafy herbs, crushed stone minerals, white peach and melon.  This has medium body with decent acidity.  On the palate red fruit and minerals open the show with orange zest, leafy herbs and white peach coming in later.  The finish has nice length with some melon providing depth.  The finish gets a touch soft, a little more acidity would be welcome.  Overall, a nice Rosé to sip on a sunny day.  This has 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a plastic “cork”.  (87 pts)

 

 

Conclusion

The winery also makes a very enjoyable white wine and Crianza that I had previously reviewed.  My blog featuring those wines are available by clicking here.

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

 

 

 

The #WiningHourChat is a Twitter based online wine chat that occurs every Tuesday for an hour starting at 9:00 Eastern.  The chat is full of very knowledgeable and friendly wine lovers and people that want to learn more about wine.  Every week there is a new theme.  Follow #WiningHourChat on Twitter to see what the week’s theme is and to join in the conversation.

 

Who:  Us, You, Our Friends, Your Friends, Everyone, Anyone

What:  A Twitter Wine Tasting & Discussion Entitled, #WiningHourChat

When: Tuesdays at 9 pm EST/6 pm PST

Where: Twitter @WiningHourChat using the hashtag #WiningHourChat

Why: Because. It’s The Wining Hour. Who doesn’t enjoy the wining hour?

 

 

 

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.

 

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Cheers!

 

 

This is original to CliffsWinePicks.com.  Copyright 2019 Cliff’s Wine Picks.

All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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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!

 

 

 

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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.

 

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Cheers!