Hacienda López de Haro Reserva 2018 is the perfect combination of classic and modern. The winery that makes it belongs to the powerful Vintaeo group and is unquestionably one of the major discoveries in Rioja. It’s also fantastic value for money.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
Consumption time
General features
Type of wine
Region
Type of barrel
French and American oak barrels
Type of bottle
Bordeaux
Barrel aging time
20 months
Capacity (cl)
75
Alcohol content (% vol.)
14
General Information
Rioja is Spain’s top wine region, an area that combines wines that follow the latest trends, others that are faithful to the old school and others still that are somewhere in the middle, such as Hacienda López de Haro Reserva 2018. It’s made chiefly from Tempranillo grapes enhanced with Graciano, grown on selected low-yielding vines with an average age of 30 years.
The vines are located in poor soils on the terraces of the Ebro in the Sonsierra area, where the microclimate and calcareous-clay soils provide perfect conditions especially for Tempranillo, the star Rioja grape. The grapes were macerated for 10 days followed by fermentation at a controlled temperature of 25ºC in 30,000-kg vats. The wine was aged for 20 months in French and American oak barrels.
Founded in 2001, Hacienda López de Haro is based in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, probably the most iconic grape-growing area in Rioja. This firm is one of the latest to be established by the Vintae group and is characterised by its combination of traditional processes and cutting-edge winemaking. It owns 95 hectares of vineyards and controls a further 450, mostly old vines that yield excellent-quality grapes, and produces subtle, balanced wines.
You can’t go wrong if you pair López de Haro Reserva 2018 (D.O.Ca. Rioja) with roast beef with roast potatoes.
Creators' opinion
Appearance: Cherry-red with brick-red hues in the rim and medium pigmentation. Nose: Harmonious balance between spices, vanilla and ripe fruit. Prominent background notes of tobacco and cocoa from barrel ageing. Palate: essentially subtle and elegant. Light, well-rounded and mouth-coating. Its acidity gives it great length, with fresh and resiny hints.
The winery
Located on a hill in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, in the heart of Rioja Alta, Bodega Hacienda López de Haro (formerly Bodega Classica) rises above a true sea of vineyards nourished by the Ebro River. The Riojan Sonsierra is an area situated on the southern side of the Sierra de Cantabria and Toloño, which protect it from the cold and humid winds of the Cantabrian Sea. Its weather conditions, with more rainfall in winter than during the rest of the year and winds channeled through the Ebro Valley, make it an optimal area for vine cultivation. Its rugged terrain, with clay-limestone soils that are highly drained, is perfect for the tempranillo variety.
At Bodega Hacienda López de Haro (D.O.Ca. Rioja), the goal is to respect traditional winemaking methods, so the fermentation tanks (ranging from 15,000 to 35,000 liters) have very wide openings to mimic the traditional winemaking in open vats. This allows for easier punch-downs to better work the cap. The winery has a stock of nearly 5,000 barrels, three-quarters of which are French oak and one-quarter American oak. French oak aligns with the style of wines produced at Bodega Hacienda López de Haro, as it better preserves the fruit and the distinctive character of the varieties most used in the López de Haro collection: tempranillo, garnacha, and graciano. The winery manages 95 hectares of its own vineyards and controls an additional 450 hectares.
The latest recognition for the wines from this winery comes from Master of Wine Elizabeth Gabay, the world's leading British expert on rosé wines, who selected Classica Gran Reserva 2012 as the Best Rosé in the World in her report The Rosé Report 2023.