Intense, purple-red, with a brick rim evincing barrel ageing This wine offers aromas of cinnamon and sage surrounded by fruity notes of cherries and blackberries underscored by a mineral component. Deep, and ripe on the palate, with a velvety, silky, enveloping mouthfeel.

Each grape variety is picked by hand and taken in small individual tubs. All the grapes are placed in a cold room for 36 hours before being processed on the cluster and berry sorting table. We began picking the Tempranillo grapes in early October, with the Graciano harvest starting at the end of the month.

Each grape variety is vinified separately. After mild crushing, the grapes are fed by gravity into small French oak vats where they ferment and are left to macerate for 20 days in contact with the skins at a controlled temperature of 30 °C with light pumpovers.

Aged for 24 months in new and second year barrels made with French and American oak. The wine is fine-tuned for several months in French oak vats before being bottled and laid down for the next 24 months.

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

Pedro Vivanco, a shrewd businessman who made his fortune in the wine trade, started producing wines way back in 1915. Starting out as a wine merchant, he became a substantial vineyard owner, and went on to build a portfolio of his own bodegas. Quietly and steadily he grew Vivanco into a major player on the Rioja stage. The family now owns seven bodegas and some 400 hectares of vineyard, with other wine interests in Navarra.

In 1985 Pedro bought the site of the current winery, in the heart of Rioja Alta. In 1990 he started the ambitious project that would become the driving force for himself and sons Rafael and Santiago: the Bodegas Dinastia Vivanco.

Dinastia Vivanco is now one of Rioja’s leading producers, making modern styled Riojas with the focus firmly on bright, juicy fruit flavours. The Vivanco wines are made exclusively from the family’s vineyards, where intimate knowledge of the sites enables them to create some superb Rioja, packed full of rustic charm and fresh fruit flavours.

Rioja is Spain’s most well known wine. It is made from a blend of different grape varieties; the best known is Tempranillo (pronounced tem-pra-nee-yow). The word “Reserva” on the label indicates that this wine has plenty of ageing in both barrel and in bottle. The principle flavours are strawberries, red cherries and spicy oak with notes of tobacco.

Perfect with all kinds of meats, stews, game dishes, mushrooms, strong aged cheeses, etc. Ideal with tapas or just with some dark chocolate.