Dinastia Vivanco 2010 Rioja Reserva

After all these years (and all those wines!) the high level of winemaking and the low cost  of Spanish wines still amazes me. For instance, this bottle of reserva should cost twice what it does, and even then would be a steal. Not that I’m complaining. Dinastia Vivanco is located in Rioja Alta, the northern Basque quarter of Rioja. In every vintage, the winemaker selects the top barrels of it’s wine to bottle In a typical vintage, he retains less than 25% of the wine. The rest, he sells off.  This level of selection is crazy expensive, but results in a beautiful wine. The reserva is a balanced beast of a bottle. Dense notes of tobacco and chocolate are layered over ultra ripe tannins and glass-staining opacity. The opulent texture holds smoky vanilla and ambergris in it’s grip, slowly releasing savory notes into a finish of fresh red fruit ...