2003 | Bodega Contador | Benjamin Romeo La Vina de Andres Romeo

Red Wine: 2003 | Bodega Contador | Benjamin Romeo La Vina de Andres Romeo

Named after winemaker Benjamin Romeo’s father, this wine embodies a deep personal connection to its terroir in Rioja.

Order from the Largest & Most Trusted Premium Spirits Marketplace!

Featured in

• ROLLING STONE
• MEN’S JOURNAL
• US WEEKLY

NOTICE: Many other small liquor store sites may end up cancelling your order due to the high demand, unavailability or inaccurate inventory counts. We have partnerships consisting of a large network of licensed retailers from within the United States, Europe and across the world ensuring orders are fulfilled.

Producer: Bodega Contador

Vintage: 2003

Size: 750ml

ABV: 14%

Varietal: Tempranillo

Country/Region: Spain, Rioja

Named after winemaker Benjamin Romeo’s father, this wine embodies a deep personal connection to its terroir in Rioja. The wine presents an intense bouquet of ripe blackberries, dark cherries, and subtle notes of tobacco and vanilla, all layered over a background of earthy minerality. On the palate, it’s bold yet elegant, with finely integrated tannins and a long, persistent finish that leaves a lasting impression.

Producer Information

Bodega Contador is a modern wine producer in Rioja, Spain. Its flagship wine, Contador, is one of Spain’s most consistently high-priced wines, on par with Pingus and Vega Sicilia. Made predominantly from Tempranillo and aged in French oak, Contador is known for being full-bodied, fruit-driven and rich. The estate was established in 1995 when Artadi winemaker Benjamin Romeo purchased a cellar under the Castle of San Vicente de la Sonsierra in Rioja, some 35km (21 miles) northwest of Logroo. Romeo began to buy vineyards in the area, making the wines in his parents’ garage and aging his wines in barrel in the cellar. Romeo’s production initially began with the La Cueva del Contador label in 1996, and the first vintage of Contador was in 1999. The 2004 and 2005 vintages of the latter went on to receive 100-point scores from Robert Parker, cementing the wine’s in-demand status. Now, there are 80 plots of older vines dotted around Rioja providing fruit for Contador wines. Grapes are sorted by hand in the winery, and after vinification in oak, are aged for 18-20 months in 100 percent new French oak. This makes for a wine with plenty of spice and vanilla characters, but Contador is best known for its fruit intensity. Bodega Contador whose modern, purpose-built cellar was inaugurated in 2008, just outside San Vicente de la Sonsierra makes a range of other wines, both red and white, most of which come under the Rioja DOCa. These include the Carmen Gran Reserva, named after Romeo’s mother, and the Predicador, or “preacher” series (a reference to the Clint Eastwood character in the 1980s western, Pale Rider).