Lovely dried red fruit, such as plums with just a hint of prunes. Cedar, walnut and leather undertones. Full-bodied with lots of fruit, considering its age, as well as hints of smoke, tobacco, bark and black tea. Some balsamic at the finish. Traditionally styled with lovely results. Drink or hold.

I could not resist including the cousins: La Rioja Alta 890 and 904. I am devoted to 890, but I know that 904 has many vociferous fans. The first difference is the Graciano in this wine, more than 10%. This adds lovely freshness, and darker characters from liquorice to spice. The wine spends a little less time ageing, and remains generous and mouth filling with dark cherries and orange zest. Very delicious. (Drink between 2023-2050)

I usually prefer the 904 to the 890, but there will be no Gran Reserva 890 until the 2010 vintage (from the last vintage I tasted, 2005). So, the only one of the extended-aging Haro-style reds I tasted this time was the 2011 Gran Reserva 904, which had a hard act to follow after the 2010 vintage. It's a blend of 89% Tempranillo and 11% Graciano matured in American oak barrels for four years, and it was racked eight times from barrel to barrel during its élevage, which sounds a bit harsh for a vintage like 2011 when the wines were not as complete and robust as in 2010. It has the classic profile, aromas and flavors (decayed leaves, tobacco, sweet spices, a meaty touch and some black fruit), but the oak seems to take a more leading role and the palate feels less juicy. It finishes dry. The final blend was bottled in November 2016, filling 150,000 bottles.

Grand and elegant, in the stubbornly traditional mode of Rioja Alta classicism, this wine has enough air between the layers of plump fruit and oak spice to build generous complexity. Its herbal savor and piquillo-pepper notes keep it earthbound, while the wine’s stamina keeps driving the flavors forward. This has the gracious power to sustain it for seriously long aging.

This supple red shows maturity, with forest floor, mushroom and cedar notes framing dried cherry and tea flavors. The silky texture is supported by light tannins and orange peel acidity. Traditional style, balanced and harmonious. Tempranillo and Graciano. Drink now through 2025. – TM