Critics reviews
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 26/04/2004
About this WINE
Bodega Contador
Bodega Contador was founded as recently as 1995, but the fact that it has become one of Rioja’s most respected wineries in such a relatively short time is testament to its superb terroir and the brilliant winemaking skill of proprietor Benjamin Romeo. Starting off with an awe-inspiring cellar hewn into the rock beneath the Castle of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, finding extra space in his parents’ garage, where he crafted the stunning 2004 and 2005 vintages, which both received 100 points from the Wine Advocate.
In 2008 Benjamin completed his new, state-of-the-art winery, built into the hills of Rioja surrounded by his vineyards. Benjamin’s wine making is relatively modern, with individual vineyard plots farmed to very small yields and vinified separately, before ageing for a comparatively short 18-20 months in new French oak (as opposed to the traditional American oak). The results are extraordinary.
Tempranillo/Tinto Fino
A high quality red wine grape that is grown all over Spain except in the hot South - it is known as Tinto Fino in Ribera del Duero, Cencibel in La Mancha and Valdepenas and Ull de Llebre in Catalonia. Its spiritual home is in Rioja and Navarra where it constitutes around 70% of most red blends.
Tempranillo-based wines tend to have a spicy, herbal, tobacco-like character accompanied by ripe strawberry and red cherry fruits. It produces fresh, vibrantly fruit driven "jovenes" meant for drinking young. However Tempranillo really comes into its own when oak aged, as with the top Riojas where its flavours seem to harmonise perfectly with both French and American oak, producing rich, powerful and concentrated wines which can be extraordinarily long-lived.
In Ribera del Duero it generally sees less oak - the exception being Vega Sicilia where it is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and then aged for an astonishing 7 years in oak and is unquestionably one of the world`s greatest wines.
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Description
Romeos flagship cuvee (only 200 bottles for the USA) is the fabulous 2001 Contador. Along with some of the Artadi offerings, it is as great a Rioja as one could ever hope to taste. Fashioned from three parcels of 80-year old, 70-year old, and 65-year old vines, it spends 12 months in new French oak prior to being bottled without fining or filtration. It boasts a dense purple color along with a sumptuous nose of melted chocolate, espresso roast, creme de cassis, cherries, and flowers. Dense and full-bodied as well as impeccably seamless, pure, and balanced, this is a beauty!
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 26/04/2004
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