Who makes it
Monsieur Vigier, a Frenchman, was the house's first winemaker. The first wine he made for it was Reserva 1890, predecessor of today's Gran Reserva 890. Five families founded La Rioja Alta, and descendants of those families remain principal shareholders and directors. The Haro winery owns more than 587 hectares of vineyards. It also makes its own American oak barrels, uses traditional rackings and keeps wines through long ageing.
Where it grows
The winery stands in Haro's historic Station District at Avenida Vizcaya 8. Its named wines draw on fruit from Villalba, Briñas, Rodezno, Fuenmayor, Cenicero and La Pedriza in Rioja Oriental. Those vineyard names enter the bottles through blends assembled at the Haro cellar, so several Rioja locations appear within the house range.
What they make
The Haro range includes Gran Reserva 890, Gran Reserva 904, Viña Ardanza, Viña Arana and Viña Alberdi. Tempranillo is the principal grape, joined by Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha. Viña Ardanza combines Tempranillo from estate vineyards in Fuenmayor and Cenicero with Garnacha from La Pedriza in Rioja Oriental. The range moves between Gran Reserva names and separate Viña wines, with estate made American oak and long ageing as the recurring cellar method.
Gran Reserva 904 opens with wild red berries, black cherry and blueberries. Tobacco, black pepper, tea leaves, coffee, mocha, vanilla and cinnamon follow from barrel ageing. The palate combines freshness and smoothness with silky tannins that carry through the finish.