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Accountant 2017

Accountant 2017

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Regular price €289.70
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  • Country: Spain
  • Region: La Rioja
  • Producer: Bodegas Contador
  • Type: Red
  • Castes: 100% Tempranillo
  • Winemaker: Benjamin Romeo

97 points Robert Parker and 97 points José Peñín

The history of this winery began in 1995, when Benjamín acquired a centuries-old cave beneath the castle of San Vicente de la Sonsierra. In 1996 he produced the first vintage of "La Cueva del Contador" wine there and began purchasing vineyards for his project.

During the following years he carried out winemaking on a small scale in the cave and continued to acquire vineyards. In 1999 he made the first harvest of his "Contador" wine and in 2000, given the good reception of these first wines, he decided to dedicate himself exclusively to his personal project.

From 2001 onwards, Benjamín Romeo left the cave he acquired to make his wines from then on in the garage of his parents' house in San Vicente. In this way, the winemaking capacity offered by the cave increases.

The 2004 and 2005 vintages of "Contador" were a very positive turning point for the project, as they achieved the desired 100 Parker points. This recognition was unprecedented in Spain, as these were still harvests made in the Benjamin family garage.

To give the project the dimension it deserved, between 2004 and 2006 Benjamín Romeo created the project for his current wine cellar together with the architect Héctor Herrera. The new winery, opened on June 21, 2008, is located at the foot of San Vicente de la Sonsierra and has a 3-story structure or terraces that reproduces the original slopes of the land and at the same time facilitates the handling of the grapes. and wine by gravity.

Adega Contador has more than 50 plots with different soils, microclimates, orientations, altitudes, grape varieties and clones that allow us to obtain highly complex wines. Most of the vines are planted in glass, a training method traditionally used in La Rioja.

The land is cultivated on average 6 times a year between pruning and grape ripening, depending on the circumstances of each season. Farming includes several jobs, including some specific to viticulture, such as cutting shoots.

The harvest is done manually by experienced harvesters. The grapes are transported to the winery in boxes with a capacity of 14 kg and within a maximum period of half an hour.

In the cellar, and always working by gravity, alcoholic fermentation takes place at controlled temperatures in conical French oak vats with a capacity of 10,000 liters. Both emptying the tanks and filling the barrels are also done by gravity. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in new French oak barrels.

Regarding oak, Bodega Contador works exclusively with the 10 most prestigious cooperages in France and with the cutting-edge barrels from each of these cooperages. Benjamin Romeo travels to France to personally select the best oak trees.

Currently Bodega Contador sells 75% of its wines on the international market and the remaining 25% in Spain. Patxi Fernández, Benjamín Romeo's friend since childhood, directs the winery's commercial operations around the world.

Alcoholic Degree: 15%

Bottle: 750 mL

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