Ein aufregendes Meisterwerk aus dem spanischen Eldorado des Rotweins. Kräftig und frisch zugleich, obwohl er sich noch mindestens 10 Jahre wohl im Keller fühlen würde – das schaffen nur die Großen!

Colour: Cherry; Aroma: balsamic herbs, sweet spices, scrubland, ripe fruit, black fruit, earthy notes; Flavour: spicy, balsamic, good acidity, round tannins.

I tasted the bottled version of the 2016 La Fleur de Vivaltus (formerly Petit Vivaltus), which showed pretty much like the sample I tasted with Jean-Claude Berrouet and his son Jeff in Madrid on a warm summer Monday morning in 2018. It's mostly Tempranillo with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and has 13.9% alcohol. It fermented with neutral yeasts followed by an élevage that lasted 12 months in 70% used barrels, 20% new ones and 10% in concrete eggs. This shows very good freshness and elegance, a style I have also seen in some of the Yllera wines from this vintage (Jesús Yllera and Yllera Dominus), floral, perfumed and elegant, with a vibrant palate with very good freshness and clean, focused flavors.

Absolut beeindruckend was die Pioniere der Familie Yllera zusammen mit Wein-Papst Jean-Claude Berrouet aus diesem Tempranillo herausgeholt haben. Die perfekte Balance zwischen samtiger Eleganz und lebhafter Frische!

The eponymous 2016 Vivaltus was really impressive. I was already amazed at the unbottled sample, and the finished wine seems even better! It's a blend of Tempranillo with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, mostly from old vines. It fermented in stainless steel with neutral yeasts and aged for around 12 months in French barriques, 20% of them new. But there's no oak in the nose, which is ethereal and perfumed, elegant and nuanced, with notes of violets, wild berries and herbs. The palate shows ultra-refined tannins and comes through as beautifully textured, with a fine, chalky minerality, very good precision, clean and focused flavors and a long, tasty finish. This is really amazing.

Colour: bright cherry, garnet rim; Aroma: complex, expressive, spicy, mineral, fruit expression, ripe fruit, earthy notes; Flavour: elegant, full-bodied, long, great length