Hacienda López de Haro Gran Reserva 2016 A Gran Reserva worth every minute. 92 SUCKLING 90 DECANTER Type Red wine Region Rioja (Spain) Grapes Tempranillo Graciano Producer Hacienda López de Haro Alcohol content 14.0% The wine There are wines that are not meant to be rushed. Wines that call for a table, conversation, freshly baked bread, and one more chair in case someone shows up unannounced. Hacienda López de Haro is exactly that: a way of life. An invitation to slow down, to listen, to talk, to look around. To return to those things that last because they are well made. Matsu is a red wine from the Toro D.O. produced by the Matsu winery. The winery is located in the Toro region (Zamora) and is owned by the Vintae group. Matsu El Viejo is made entirely from the Tinta de Toro grape variety. The grapes come from century-old, very low-yielding vineyards planted on sandstone and clay soils at an altitude of approximately 650-700 meters. For vineyard cultivation, every effort is made to avoid interfering with the vineyard's natural processes, employing methods similar to biodynamic agriculture. For its production, the wine ferments and macerates for three weeks in 10,000 kg concrete tanks. Malolactic fermentation then takes place in new French oak barrels. The wine is aged in these same barrels for 16 months. Matsu means "to wait" in Japanese. The wines in the Matsu collection are the result of waiting, of waiting for nature to complete its cycles without forcing it, and of waiting for the wine to develop its qualities spontaneously. Its Gran Reserva is born in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, on the poor terraces of the Ebro, where Tempranillo and Graciano find their best expression. There, among old vineyards, it begins a slow journey that continues with 30 months of ageing in French and American oak, and more than four years resting in bottle, until it becomes one of those wines that can only exist when time is in charge. On the nose, it opens with spices, stewed ripe fruit, liquorice, balsamic notes; on the palate it is silky, long, persistent, with velvety tannins and a freshness that is surprising in a classic Gran Reserva. A wine that pairs with stews, roast meats, aged cheeses… and those after‑dinner conversations you wish would never end. A small gesture for a wine that asks for exactly this: not to live fast, but to live well.