Classica Hacienda López de Haro Gran Reserva 2004 is the best Spanish red wine according to Decanter

  We are in luck, because not every day one of our wines enters the Olympus of the Decanter World Wine Awards. In addition, it does it in a big way, getting the highest score awarded, in blind tasting, by a jury of 160 professionals, including 44 Master of Wine and 11 Master Sommeliers. With 98 points, bordering on perfection, Classica Hacienda López de Haro Gran Reserva 2004 is crowned as the best Spanish wine in the competition. Only 9 wines from our country have managed to enter the list of "Best in show", the 50 best wines in the world in a record edition of the awards: more than 18,000 wines from 56 countries have been judged.

We cannot be more proud and this award is a great honor, not only because it comes from one of the most prestigious publications in the sector and a jury of the highest level, but because the judges choose it in a blind tasting, therefore what is valued is the wine and only the wine. From Classica Hacienda López de Haro Gran Reserva 2004, the jury highlights its color, “still dark, despite the seventeen years since its grapes ripened”, as well as its complex aromas, which include notes of “plush, rich, almost smoky fruits, warm timber, dried mushrooms, tobacco leaf and cedar boxes”. The jury also praises the sensations on the palate, which he describes as "rich, soft, open and easy, yet packed with fruited intensity, too".

This Gran Reserva, which has been resting for 17 years in the winery, is a blend of Tempranillo and Graciano from vineyards located in La Sonsierra with an average age of 70 years. 2004 was an exceptional vintage in Rioja, with very favorable weather conditions. This red wine spent 42 months aging in new and used French oak barrels to later assemble and finish its refinement with a long stay in the bottle. To enjoy it (and see if the Decanter judges are right) we will have to wait until the beginning of next year, when the 9,000 bottles of this Classica that now rest in the cellar will see the light. The image, yet to be discovered, will pay tribute to another great figure in the history of Rioja on the label. But you will understand that we could not wait to share this great news, because we know that this joy is also a bit yours.