Decoding the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Rioja Vintages: A Buyer's Guide for the 2026 Wine List

Every spring brings a fresh round of vintage reports from Rioja, and 2026 has been an especially loud one. Vinous published its 2022, 2023 and 2024: The Rioja Renaissance dossier in April, Tim Atkin MW released his annual Rioja Special Report in February, and Master Sommelier Peter Neptune devoted an hour of his March classroom series to the region. The chatter is consistent: Rioja is in a stylistic renaissance, and the wines arriving on US shores right now are some of the most expressive — and most commercially relevant — that the appellation has shipped in a decade.

For sommeliers, restaurant buyers, and independent retailers, that creates both opportunity and complexity. The Rioja section of your list is no longer just a Tempranillo safety net for the steak crowd; it is a category that earns its own conversation, its own pour, and its own margin. Below is the working buyer's guide we are sharing with our distributor partners across the country as the 2022, 2023 and 2024 vintages roll through the US wine trade.

Why Rioja Matters More in 2026

Three trade dynamics converge this year and put Rioja at the center of the conversation:

• Tariff-driven price compression on European imports. As the broader trade press has noted through the spring of 2026, buyers are rebuilding their European sections around regions that still deliver disproportionate quality for the dollar. Rioja — and Spain generally — remains one of the strongest value plays in fine wine, particularly at the Reserva and Gran Reserva tiers where the producer absorbs years of aging cost before the bottle ever reaches your floor.
• A clear stylistic renaissance. Vinous framed the new releases as a transformation driven by “economic contraction breeding stylistic rejuvenation.” In practical terms: more village and single-vineyard bottlings, more transparent oak treatment, more old-vine field blends, and a softer hand with new American barricas. The wines feel modern without abandoning what makes Rioja, Rioja.
• A generational shift at the table. Younger drinkers are buying less wine in volume but they are buying with curiosity. Rioja's classification system — Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva — gives a sommelier a built-in story arc to pour and pace through a meal, and it gives a retail buyer a built-in price ladder.

The 2022 Vintage: Generous, Polished, Ready to Pour

2022 was warm and dry across the three sub-zones (Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental), producing concentrated fruit with ripe but well-structured tannins. The wines are forward, dark-fruited and built for current consumption.

What this means for your by-the-glass program: 2022 is the vintage you put in the pour now. It shows the kind of immediate generosity that wins a guest over on the first sip. Crianzas from 2022 — released into the US market through 2026 — are excellent candidates to replace a tiring house red and to anchor a Spanish flight against a Côtes du Rhône or a Chianti Classico at the same price point.

How our portfolio fits

• Manzanos Crianza — a textbook Rioja Alta Tempranillo built for restaurant rotation: 14 to 16 months in American and French oak, ripe red fruit, integrated spice. Pours brilliantly with grilled meats and charcuterie boards.
• Berceo Crianza — Berceo is one of the oldest names in Haro, and the Crianza level is a buyer favorite for casual fine-dining lists where you need a recognizable Rioja silhouette at a sharp tier-one price.
• Voché — a younger-style, fruit-forward expression for wine bars and Spanish tapas concepts; pour it slightly chilled in summer and watch the second glasses follow.

The 2023 Vintage: Classical, Structured, Built for Aging

2023 has emerged as the connoisseur's vintage of the trio — cooler, more classical in profile, with the firm acidity and tightly wound tannins that reward bottle age. Tim Atkin and Vinous both flagged 2023 as a vintage where the best Reservas and Gran Reservas will outperform their score on release once they are given time.

For your wine list: 2023 is the year to deepen your reserve cellar. Buyers building a serious Spanish program through 2026 should be locking in allocations of 2023 Reserva-tier wines now, both for current placement on higher-end tasting menus and for hold-back inventory to release in 2028 and beyond.

How our portfolio fits

• Manzanos Reserva — the 2018 release scored 93 points from Wine Enthusiast, and the style continues into the cooler 2023 vintage with a tighter, more linear frame that will reward five to seven years of additional cellaring.
• Berceo Reserva and Gran Reserva — Berceo's traditional house style — long oak aging, classical Tempranillo elegance — is especially well-suited to 2023. These are the bottles you bring to a table that asks “what should I drink with the lamb?”
• 1890 Manzanos Viñedo Singular — at the top of the range, our single-vineyard Singular bottling represents the new wave of Rioja: site-driven, lower-intervention, and built to age. A natural fit for a sommelier's hand-sell or a high-end retailer's reserve shelf.

The 2024 Vintage: Fresh, Linear, Aromatic

2024 was a cooler, more delicate growing season, and the early-release Joven and white wines are arriving in 2026 with the aromatic lift and snap of acidity that the on-premise trade has been asking for. Expect lighter-bodied reds, brighter Garnachas from Rioja Oriental, and a strong year for white Rioja and rosado.

For your program: 2024 is your patio season. These are the wines that move at brunch service, on summer rooftops, and on shareable Spanish-influenced tasting menus. Build your Spring/Summer 2026 by-the-glass around them.

How our portfolio fits

• Manzanos Blanco and Berceo Blanco — Viura-led whites with a touch of barrel that punch well above their price tier; serve as the aperítif pour at any Spanish-leaning restaurant.
• 1890 Manzanos Rosado — recently reviewed by Decanter, our Rioja rosado is a buyer-friendly answer to Provençal pink fatigue on the floor.
• Palacio de Manzanos — a fresher, more contemporary house style that bridges Crianza weight with a 2024-style aromatic profile.

Don't Forget Navarra

One of the quiet stories of 2026 is the rising profile of Navarra DO, Rioja's neighbor to the east. Buyers tired of paying for the “Rioja name tax” are discovering that Navarra delivers comparable Tempranillo, world-class Garnacha, and serious old-vine projects at a meaningfully sharper price.

Our Navarra portfolio is one of the deepest in the US market and gives you a complete Spanish red and white program in a single shipment:

• Las Campanas — the historic Navarra house, founded in 1864, offering Crianza and Reserva Tempranillo plus a benchmark Garnacha Rosado that consistently outperforms its price.
• Castillo de Olite and Castillo de Enériz — clean, modern-style reds for high-volume by-the-glass slots.
• Señorío de Irati and Mendiani Oaks — for buyers looking for points-of-difference on a Spanish flight or for a sommelier's hand-sell that isn't yet on every list in the city.

The Crown of the Cellar: Manzanos Gran Reserva

If your program has room for one statement Spanish bottle this year, this is the moment to revisit Gran Reserva. The category — wines aged a minimum of two years in oak and three in bottle before release — represents Rioja at its most distinctive and least replaceable.

Our Manzanos Gran Reserva Rioja 2015 was awarded 95 points by Wine Enthusiast, one of the highest scores given to a Gran Reserva in its release window. It is the bottle we send to a steakhouse buyer who asks for the “wine your sommelier reaches for.”

Paired with dry-aged ribeye, aged Manchego, or slow-braised lamb, the 2015 Gran Reserva is a closer — the bottle that turns a $200 check into a $400 one, and a first-time guest into a regular.

Building Your 2026 Spanish Program: A Practical Framework

For a typical restaurant or independent retail program, we recommend balancing the three new Rioja vintages across price tiers like this:

• By-the-glass / value tier: 2022 Crianzas and 2024 whites/rosados — generous, accessible, easy to sell.
• List anchor tier: 2023 Reservas — classical, ageworthy, the spine of your Spanish section for the next three years.
• Reserve / cellar tier: Gran Reservas (current release 2015 through 2018) and single-vineyard bottlings — the wines that earn the sommelier a hand-shake at the end of the meal.
• Navarra complement: A Las Campanas Crianza or a Garnacha Rosado as the “hidden gem” pour that gives your program a personality beyond Rioja alone.

How to Source Through Manzanos Wines USA

Manzanos Wines USA distributes to all 50 states through a vetted distributor network. Our trade team works directly with restaurant buyers, retail chains, and independent shops to build Spanish programs that reflect the new vintages and the current state of the Rioja conversation — not the version of Rioja that lived on a wine list ten years ago.

Whether you are a sommelier rebuilding your Spanish section for fall 2026, a retail buyer looking to capture the post-tariff value shopper, or a chain beverage director building a 50-store program, our team can pull samples, schedule a virtual tasting, and route you to the right distributor partner in your market.

Reach our trade desk at sales@manzanoswinesusa.com or visit manzanoswinesusa.com for the current technical sheets and award reference for every bottle discussed above.

Manzanos Wines USA is the premier importer of premium wines from Spain, Italy, Chile, South Africa, and France, serving all 50 US states through our nationwide distributor network. Learn more at manzanoswinesusa.com.