La Cueva del Contador

La Cueva del Contador is a marvellous red wine from La Rioja D.O region. It is produced by the Contador Winery, which is a project by the renowned winemaker Benjamín Romeo. Benjamín founded the winery in 1995, producing the first vintages of La Cueva del Contador in a small wine cellar under the Castillo de San Vincente de la Sonsierra.

Formerly these caves used to store and preserve wines. The name Contador, or ´Counter´ pays homage to the people who sat at the entrance and literally had to count the wine that entered.

La Cueva del Contador is solely made with Tempranillo grapes, grapes that come from 7 small plots owned by the winery, which can be found in the towns of San Vincente de la Sonriera and Ábalos. The vines grow on different arcillo-calcareous soils and the altitudes and microclimates of the region allow for a very complex wine.

One noticable highlight of Contador winery is the meticulous attention paid to every detail. Benjamin Romeo himself personally oversees the entire process, from the soil care of the vineyard to the label design.

Once in the winery the grapes go through a double selection table, where twice the best bunches are selected. This is to ensure only the best quality grapes are used in the wine.

They are then cold macerated at about 17 ° C for 4 days and then fermented at a controlled temperature of between 17 and 25 ° C temperature for 8 days.

After the fermentation process, La Cueva del Contador is aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels made of the best French coopers. It is Benjamin himself who, with his eye for detail, personally selects the best oak barrels to use.

La Cueva del Contador is a deep complex wine. A modern rioja, very expressive of terroir. We recommend to decant two hours before you can enjoy it in its fullness.