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.

 

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!

 

 

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

All rights reserved.

 

 

 

***** 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:

 

 

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.

 

This blog has been verified by Rise: Rb4c89e8cc21bbd9321fbfae67aed4e2e

 

 

Cheers!

 

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:

 

 

 

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)

 

 

 

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)

 

 

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!

 

 

This is original to CliffsWinePicks.com.  Copyright 2017 Cliff’s Wine Picks.

All rights reserved.

 

 

 

***** 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:

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Cheers!