Wine Tasting Short: Hacienda Lopez de Haro 2014 Gran Reserva
Release Date: March 14, 2025
Photos by: Denise M. Gardner
Welcome to Part 2 on our series on Rioja. Today we are going to talk about a Gran Reserva from Rioja. This is the style of the wine that is aged than we tasted in Part 1, the Crianza. The Crianza is a great comparison to today’s tasting of the Gran Reserva, which sees greater aging time in barrel. Visit our Show Notes for more information on today’s episode including descriptions on how to read Rioja labels and food pairings for today’s wine.
Links for things mentioned in this episode:
- Hacienda Lopez de Haro 2014 Rioja Gran Reserva > the wine we tasted today
- The Rioja Classifications
- Rioja Crianza (“upbringing”): Cherry Red Seal
- Rioja Reserva: Burgundy Red Seal
- Rioja Gran Reserva: Dark Blue Seal
- Do You Love Old World of New World Wines? The Red Wine Edition
- Will you like this wine? This wine is farther into the Old World Style of red wines, but it has some fresh, red fruit aromas and flavors that make the wine seem young and lively. It is quite dry and has a bigger body that is more similar to French Cabernet wines.
- History of Oak Use in Winemaking: Episode 09: Everyone Loves a Good Barrel Room… But Where Did Barrels Come From?
- Our ideas for food pairings with this wine:
- Red Meat (e.g., Steak)
- Charcuterie Plates (Aged Meats, Cheese, Crackers, Nuts, Dried Fruits, Olives, etc.)
- Savory Stews
- Pot Pie
- Pot Roast
- Ham (but without the honey or pineapple toppings)
- Baked Potatoes
Photo by: Denise M. Gardner
Thank you for listening to another delicious episode of Voices of the Vine. You can find show notes for our episodes by subscribing to the DGW Sip & Swirl, or by visiting the Sip & Swirl Archive, both available at dgwinemaking.com/winelovers. That’s dgwinemaking.com/winelovers with an “s” at the end.
We love to talk about tasting wine on this podcast. Please remember that our podcast is about wine appreciation and education, but that we both support and encourage responsible alcohol consumption.
Additionally, both of us are winemaking professionals, so we do not get paid for tasting wine. All opinions expressed here on our podcast are those of ours alone.
Today’s episode is produced, researched, and hosted by both Denise Gardner and myself, Virginia Mitchell. If you enjoyed today’s episode, we’d love for you to subscribe to Voices of the Vine on your favorite podcast platform. Plus, listener reviews go a long way for podcasters. If you could leave us a review on your platform of choice, we’d truly appreciate it.
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