Contador

The 2022 Contador was produced with a blend of 92% Tempranillo and 8% Garnacha from the lieux-dits of El Bardallo, El Bombón, Pangua, El Cerezo, Paulejas, La Rad, Revilla and La Tejera from San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Ábalos. Yield per vine was minuscule. The destemmed but uncrushed grapes fermented in oak vats, and the wine matured in brand-new French barriques for 20 months. Dark and inky, brooding and spiced, it's a textbook example of the style—modern, ripe, concentrated and well oaked but with balance and harmony. It's from a warm and dry year when the wine reached 15.42% alcohol, keeping a pH of 3.56 and 5.75 grams of acidity. It's full-bodied and has abundant, fine-grained tannins and grip but is not aggressive or astringent, with a chalky feeling and an extroverted personality. It should develop nicely in bottle. 4,200 bottles produced.

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.