2007 Bodegas Manzanos Gran Reserva Rioja 750 ml

There will always be deals that can only get done in person, face to face, over great wine—and that’s exactly how we scored today’s nearly unfathomable deal on the 2007 Bodegas Manzanos Rioja Gran Reserva. 

We visited Manzanos in April of 2024, spending about 12 hours cruising through the dusty vineyards in their old Humvees, walking through the rows, and getting to know co-owner David Fernandez de Manzanos and his team. At the end of the day, we tasted through about 30 wines. Some were young and youngish, many were quite old—and this 2007 Gran Reserva, in our opinion, was the star of the show. 

This is exactly what you want from an aged Gran Reserva. Ruby-garnet in color, it’s got a beautifully developed nose of plum liqueur, smashed black raspberries, licorice, faint olive and dried lavender. It’s soft and enveloping on the palate, with resolved, silky tannins, yet it shows plenty of energy.

Bodegas Manzanos owns vineyards that stretch across all three subregions in Rioja: Alta, Alavesa, and Oriental. They’ve been acquiring prime parcels since their founding in 1890, and the best lots of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano go into their Gran Reserva. 

The grapes for this ‘07 sourced from their sites in Azagra and San Adriàn, plus from 50+ year-old bush-trained vines in Aldeanueva de Ebro. The wine aged in French and American oak barrels for 36 months before resting in bottle—and resting, and resting some more. Now, straight from the source, this beautiful red is finally ready to grace your table. We can’t think of a better wine to share with family and great friends.