The 2011 Coleccion Vivanco Parcelas de Mazuelo seems to have ripened properly in 2011, as it didn’t show as backward and austere as this grape can be. The wine is certainly very young and tightly wound, with the rustic notes of the variety, tree bark and blackberries. Well, it is a little austere and tight, and the texture is finely knit with plenty of ripe, round tannins, showing supple and mineral. Mazuelo/Carignan is one of those hate-it or love-it wines, so this wine won’t please everyone. Drink 2015-2021. Vivanco is a well-known name in the wine trade in Rioja, as Pedro Vivanco was in that business and he grew the family firm in the 1970s. Pedro, together with his sons, Rafael and Santiago, built an impressive new winery in Briones, Rioja Alta, and an even more impressive wine museum in 2004. Without knowing them all, I’d venture to say it’s probably the best in its class in the whole world, and has to be seen to be believed. Pedro is an avid collector of wine-related objects including art, and he had the disposable income to build a very large collection. Rafael studied oenology in France and is in charge of winemaking. Under his guidance their wines have seen steady progress. They own an impressive 400 hectares of vineyards, mostly around Briones and Haro averaging 20 years of age, but some plots are as old as 80 years or more. All four varietal wines from the top-of-the-range Coleccion are very true to their varieties and make an interesting and didactic exercise tasting them together. Imported by Opici Wines, Glen Rock, NJ; tel. (201) 689-1200