Rioja DOCa · Gran Reserva DOCa

Bodegas Manzanos Gran Reserva Rioja 2015

Bodegas Manzanos (Fernández de Manzanos) · 2015 · Traditional Rioja Gran Reserva (Tempranillo-based blend)

mature · computed from type + maturity — banded, not measured
Rioja — revealedRioja · revealed

$27.99 · K&L Wines · ordered 2025-06-24 · sku 1828226

liked

Completely fine, nothing amazing. The interesting part was the takeaway it prompted: 'maybe I need to examine more Spanish sub regions or things closer to a left bank.' The soft-Rioja experiment result: not a fail (flavors were distinct, not shapeless), but no spark — traditional oak-rounded Rioja is not where his excitement lives.

entries reconstructed retroactively, 2026-07-19

critics/consensus

A classic, old-school Rioja Gran Reserva: mature red and dark fruit and dried cherry laced with the vanilla-coconut-dill imprint of American oak, over leather, savoury earth, and silky tannin.

critics/consensus

Descriptors

click a term to see why it attaches to this wine

fruit
plumpresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranilloclassic for Garnacha (Grenache)
black cherrypresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Graciano
wild strawberrypresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranilloclassic for Garnacha (Grenache)
raspberrypresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranilloclassic for Garnacha (Grenache)
floral & herbal
violetpresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranilloclassic for Graciano
dried herbspresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranilloclassic for Garnacha (Grenache)classic for Mazuelo (Cariñena / Carignan)classic for Graciano
earth & mineral
ironpresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranilloclassic for Mazuelo (Cariñena / Carignan)
forest floorpresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranillo
mushroompresent in this bottle’s notes
oak & spice
vanillapresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranillo
coconutpresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranillo
dillpresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranillo
baking spicepresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranilloclassic for Garnacha (Grenache)classic for Graciano
dark chocolatepresent in this bottle’s notes
tertiary — with age
leatherpresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranilloclassic for Garnacha (Grenache)classic for Mazuelo (Cariñena / Carignan)
dried cherrypresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranillo
dried figpresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranilloclassic for Garnacha (Grenache)
tobaccopresent in this bottle’s notesclassic for Rioja DOCaclassic for Tempranilloclassic for Graciano

The vintage

2015 was a hot, dry growing season in Rioja that brought an early harvest and ripe, concentrated fruit. Rioja Oriental's warmer, Mediterranean-influenced climate pushed ripeness further still.

Officially classified 'Very Good' by Rioja's Consejo Regulador, 2015 gave riper, fuller, more richly fruited reds with good ageing potential — well suited to the generous, warm-country style of a Rioja Oriental Gran Reserva.

Vineyard

Rioja Oriental's warmer eastern terroir — alluvial and clay-limestone soils on terraces near the Ebro rising into the Yerga foothills (parcel-level soil detail not published).

All source vineyards are more than 50 years old and trained as low bush vines (en vaso).

Old bush vines in two esteemed parts of Rioja Oriental: the northern side of the Ebro near the villages of San Adrián and Azagra, and higher parcels in the Yerga Mountains.

In the cellar & winery

Fermented in stainless steel.

Aged three years (about 36 months) in a mix of French and American oak barrels, all of them four to six years old (seasoned, not new), followed by further bottle age before release.

Predominantly Tempranillo (with Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano); the older barrels season the wine gently rather than adding heavy new-oak flavour. The blend is described in the merchant record; exact percentages and ABV are not published.

Composition

vintage-specific blend · abv not published

window 2021–2030 · mature, as of mid-2026At maturity and drinking in its prime (as of mid-2026) — a decade on from the harvest, its fruit softened into savoury, tertiary complexity.

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