2008 Benjamin Romeo La Cueva del Contador
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Tasting notes
(100% tempranillo): Glass-staining ruby. Deep dark berry and cherry liqueur aromas are strongly marked by sexy vanillin oak and potpourri. The palate offers intense blackberry and boysenberry flavors, with energetic mineral and floral pastille notes and sweet mocha on the back end. Powerful, impressively concentrated and lively to boot, finishing with strong thrust and sappy persistence. This is still a baby.
Critic scores
Average Score
Josh Raynolds
Jay S Miller, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2008 La Cueva de Contador is 100% Tempranillo aged for 18 months in new French oak. This purple-colored Rioja offers up a striking nose of sandalwood, Asian spices, incense, lilacs, espresso, and blackberry. Savory, ripe, sweetly-fruited, and incipiently complex, it will evolve for 6-8 years and drink well through 2028, if not longer. However, it lacks the depth of great vintages such as 2001, 2004, and 2005. Benjamin Romeo’s winemaking credentials include over 15 years as head winemaker at Bodegas Artadi, one of Rioja’s greatest producers, and two 100 point scores for his 2004 and 2005 Contador. Importer: Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC; Tel. (704) 358-1565