Team C&J
We discovered this wine from Bodegas Manzanos through our friends at Wine Access, and like so many of their recommendations lately, this bottle did not disappoint. The nose has lush aromatics, the palate is ripe with black fruit and enchanting spice, and the price couldn’t be better.
Bodegas Manzanos, which was founded by Fernández de Manzanos in 1890, is a family-owned winery that got its start in Azagra, Spain. Azagra is part of Spain’s Navarra wine region, and this small (very small!) town of just under 4,000 is where Fernández built the family’s first winery.
After the company’s founding, it was 50 years before the Manzanos expanded their operations, but when they did, it was an incredible increase in production. The first winery produced just 50,000 liters of wine a year, but the new facility that was built in the 1950s boosted production to 350,000 liters, and then, in the 1960s, the winery was renovated again, and production jumped to an astounding 1.5 million liters of wine a year.
To date, four generations of the Manzanos family have contributed to the winery, each leaving their own mark on the brand. Today, founder Fernández de Manzanos’ great-grandson, Victor Fernandez de Manzanos, shares winemaking duties with Borja Ripa. Victor’s brother, David, and David’s wife, Laura, oversee the marketing and operations. It was this new generation, the youngest winery team in the entire Navarra region, that installed a gravity flow system in the winery, and retooled the winemaking facilities to bring production into the modern age.
Bodega Manzanos is a legacy wine brand that is one of the most respected producers in Spain. In addition to Graciano, the family also grows red varieties like Tempranillo, Grenacha, and Mazuelo. If you enjoy Spanish white wines, small amounts of Chardonnay and Viura are also produced.
We don’t see many bottles of single-variety Graciano here in the US. This thick-skinned black grape is more often used in blends with Tempranillo rather than bottled on its own.
The Graciano grape hails from Spain’s northern wine regions, most notably Rioja and Navarra. Graciano is a tannic wine, which makes it great for aging. These wines are known for their deep ruby red color and expressive, perfumed nose. Oak barrels are the most popular way to age Graciano, and this can lead to the wines having pleasing notes of vanilla and spice.
Almost all of the world’s Graciano is grown in Spain (90%), with smaller plantings in the United States (5%), Australia (3%), and Portugal (2%). Bodegas Manzanos owns 20% of all the Granciano grown in Rioja.
Navarra is located in the northern part of Spain and shares a border with France to the north and Rioja to the west. Most tourists are familiar with Navarra not for its wine but for the city of Pamplona, where the “Running of the Bulls” takes place. Despite Navarra being its own distinct wine region, critics like Jancis Robinson consider Navarra a “north-eastern extension of Rioja.”
The diverse geography, which is a mix of mountains and flatlands, means that Navarra has an abundance of microclimates. The cooler Pyrenees Mountains give way to the sun-soaked ‘La Ribera’ Plains to create pockets of Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Continental climes.
While Grenache was once the most planted grape in the region, winemakers now favor Tempranillo.
Like most classic Graciano wines, the 2014 Bodegas Manzanos Azagra Voché Selección Graciano Rioja Reserva is an intense ruby red color in the glass. The nose is a lovely mix of plum, blackberry, earthy coffee, and candle wax.
The palate is dense with black fruit. Waves of plum and blackberry are complemented by cedar and cinnamon spice. Deeper textures and flavors like coffee, spicy black pepper, old leather, and a streak of bell pepper come together for a long, well-balanced finish.
Graciano can be pretty tannic, but Bodegas Manzanos’ interpretation is well crafted, and the moderate acidity makes this a very enjoyable wine. It’s no surprise that the grapes used in this stand alone bottling are hand-harvested in the cool evening hours to preserve that necessary acidity.
This is an excellent wine for the price. It’s easy drinking, delicious, and can be enjoyed with a meal or on its own. If you’re a fan of exploring some of the wine world’s lesser known grape varieties, we think you will like this bottle of Granciano from Bodegas Manzanos.
Spain
Navarra
Graciano
14%
Víctor Fernández de Manzanos
62–68°F / 16–20°C
Burgundy
30 Minutes
Now
Bodegas Manzanos Azagra
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