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Bodega Contador (Benjamin Romeo) Winery Guide

Winery Overview

Benjamin Romeo is a rock star in Spain’s wine world! From his base in the beautiful village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra in the Rioja Alavesa region,  he produces an extensive range of superlative Riojas in highly diverse styles. What sets them apart is not just the quality of winemaking – which is nonetheless excellent – but their individualism and sense of place, which reflects Romeo’s passionate belief that terroir, above all else, must be reflected in his respective wines. As a result, his wines are cult wines for collectors and are highly coveted.

From its humble origins, Contador has risen to an esteemed reputation that shines brightly today. The story began with the inaugural vintage of Cueva de Contador in 1996, a wine matured in a time-honored cave carved into the ancient rock beneath the Castle of San Vicente de la Sonsierra. This initial success paved the way for visionary winemaker Romeo, who seized the opportunity to expand his vineyard holdings, ultimately giving birth to the remarkable Contador vintage in 1999.

Nonetheless, Romeo realized he needed a proper base of his own. Turning to his parents for help, in 2001, the rising star transformed the family garage into a small winery, producing every greater wine quantity. They soon caught the attention of the world’s wine critics, including Robert Parker, who awarded 100 points to Contador’s 2004 and 2005 vintages. With the wine-growing renown and Bodgea Condator’s acclaim justly rising to stratospheric heights, Romeo built a modern winery in San Vicente to fully realize his vision.

Unveiled in 2008, the winery was designed by legendary architect Hector Herrera. This state-of-the-art facility serves as the perfect base from which Benjamin Romeo can craft his remarkable wines and is one of our favorite wineries. Using fruit harvested from a diverse mosaic of terroirs, Romeo’s skill as a master blender and ‘terroiriste’ reaches its apogee with the Cueva de Contador label, a classically structured Rioja that is marked more by its elegance than its power. The opulent and exotic Contador is a blockbuster – a massive but superbly balanced Tempranillo and probably the best new wave of Rioja reds available today.

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Further Reading

Author

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James lawrence

With a passion for food & drink that verges on the obsessive, wine writer James Lawrence has traveled the world in search of the perfect tipple. To date, nothing has surpassed the 1952 R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rioja Reserva, tasted in the cobweb-filled cellars with owner María José. Meanwhile, James has been writing for a wide variety of publications for over 12 years, including Telegraph, Decanter, Harpers, The Drinks Business, and Wine Business International. He lives in South Wales and returns to his former university city, Bilbao, as much as possible.

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