Benjamin Romeo Contador, Rioja DOCa, Spain

本杰明·羅密歐酒莊紅葡萄酒康塔多紅葡萄酒

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：10297

The 2019 Contador was produced with Tempranillo from seven vineyards—El Bombón, El Cerezo, Bardallo, El Bosque, Vizcarra, La Tejera and La Nava—in the villages of San Vicente de la Sonsierra and ábalos. The grapes were picked between September 28 and October 9; it fermented destemmed in oak vats and matured in new French oak barrels for 20 months. It's a powerful wine at 15.13% alcohol and a pH of 3.61, with generous oak and a creamy twist, ripe, concentrated and with abundant, fine-grained tannins. It's medium to full-bodied with balance and a long, dry, chalky finish. It needs a little more time but should make a long-lived Contador. Benjamín Romeo thinks this could be reminiscent of 2005 and 2010. 4,000 bottles were filled in June 2021.

I like the austerity and seriousness of the 2018 Contador, which has very similar parameters as the 2019 but comes through as fresher and more balanced, with very fine tannins and pungent flavors and a long, dry and chalky finish. It's approachable now but should improve with time in bottle. Fermentation and élevage were the same as in 2019—oak vat and 20 months in new barriques, which are being absorbed without problems. It's rich and powerful but with elegance and lots of balance. It should be a classical and long-lived vintage of Contador. 4,500 bottles produced.

I also tasted the 2017 Contador, which was very different from the 2016. This is showy, expressive, open and aromatic and seems to jump right out of the glass with decayed flowers, ripe wild berries and herbs. It's lush and round, even though the alcohol level is very similar to the 2016. It has a decadent nose that I remember from some vintages around the turn of the century, aromas that made us all think of a Burgundian expression of Tempranillo that we didn't know was possible. It has firm tannins, not as refined as those from the 2016 vintage. While approachable now, I'd wait a bit more to pull the cork. Considering the challenges of the 2017 vintage, this is a real triumph over the adverse conditions. 6,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2019 after 20 months in new French oak barrels.

The super elegant and insinuating 2016 Contador could very well be the modern version of the outstanding 2001. The nose is a little shy and takes time to reveal subtle aromas of violets, lilies and red cherries, deeply perfumed but not explosive. The explosion comes with the 2017 that I also tasted next to it; that was outspoken, while this 2016 is shyer. The palate is intense but velvety, even satiny, with ultra fine and elegant tannins and great purity of flavors, delineated, clean and symmetric. This has to be one of the finest Contador in recent times. Bravo! Unbelievably, this has 15.2% alcohol, which is completely disguised. This should age with grace and for a very long time, but it's hard to resist... 7,000 bottles were filled in June 2018.

The red flagship 2015 Contador was selected from vines over 60 years of age, and it fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in new French oak barrels for 20 months. It feels like a great vintage for the top bottling, as it has enough ripeness and concentration but is also terribly elegant, floral and nuanced. 2015 was a warm and dry year with the risk of excessive wines, but this Contador is beautifully balanced and has a rare combination of concentration and lightness. There is a nice core of freshness that lifts the wine up and gives it length. 6,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2017.