Hacienda López de Haro Classica Gran Reserva Tinto 2005

Hacienda López de Haro releases its Classica Gran Reserva only from older vintages held back in the cellar in the Rioja DOCa. This 2005 blends Tempranillo with Garnacha and Graciano grown in the continental climate of Rioja, where warm days and cool nights give ripe fruit with firm acidity. The wine spent 42 months in French and American oak barrels, a long ageing that softens tannin through slow oxygen exchange and builds the tertiary character a Gran Reserva is known for, followed by further years resting in bottle before release. American oak in particular adds vanilla and coconut spice, while the extended time develops savoury complexity. The colour is deep red with cherry tones and a brick-red rim that marks its age. The nose is intense and mature, with dried fig and prune, spicy clove and vanilla, leather, tobacco and a forest-floor earthiness. The palate is soft and resolved, the tannins fully integrated, leading to a long savoury finish. A wine ready to drink now. Serve at 17 degrees with roast lamb or beef.