Manzanos 1961

Sleeping quietly beneath the cobbled streets of the wine regions of Spain lie rare vinous treasures like this. Crafted in 1961, this venerable red (not labelled Rioja, by the way, as back then not everyone chose to classify them) spent three years in French oak before being transferred to bottle, where it completed its decades of ageing. The Tempranillo and Garnacha grapes were harvested by hand (mechanical harvesters didn’t exist back then) before being transported to Finca Manzanos, the Azagra HQ of the Manzanos family. Built into the hillside, the winery and its cellars stay a wonderfully cool temperature all year round. Perhaps that’s part of the key to this wine’s remarkable longevity. Evolved, yet elegant, it’s ideal for fine dining.