2019 Benjamin Romeo Rioja La Cueva del Contador

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 92 points

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  2/24/2024 - DevenStephens Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Had pretty low expectations due to the low score tasting note below. Color is dark purple almost blue. Nosewas subdued at first but with air we got cassis, leather and a touch of blueberry. On the palate it's great! Tons of fruit, cassis, blackberries, black cherries, blueberries, leather, à touch of tobacco. Tannins are present but not aggressive and the finish is medium. After 5 hours of air chocolate and plum notes also came up. I'm more used to more heavily oaked Rioja so it was a breath of fresh air to have one where the fruit shines through. More age would obviously be good on this wine, I'm thinking 2029 for the next bottle. Happy that my expectations were surpassed! It's why it's always better to taste a wine yourself instead of trusting a random tasting note that might be from someone who has no clue what he's talking about.

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  8/3/2023 - RajivAyyangar wrote: 87 Points

  Xiquet w/ PML (Xiquet (Washington DC)): New school Rioja. Dark ruby. Ripe. Medium oak. Primary. It’s fine...just not super exciting.

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  5/28/2022 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 95 Points

  A night and a day in Rioja; 5/27/2022-5/28/2022 (Sunny Rioja): At the 3rd Station, in the stunning medieval town of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, a tasting room specializing in Contador products. Don’t know aeration dynamics, but with the youth of this wine after the sharp elbows of the older Muga Prado and Alta Rioja, I thought this might make my eyes roll, but I was pleasantly wrong. On the nose and palate, red fruits led again, but on the back end, especially over the time I consumed, black cherries and some cassis came out to play along with some olives, some meatiness, balsamic and a light touch of oak. Dark ruby, medium to full bodied, medium++ legs. Strong tannins and acidity partially integrated at this point, no heat. VG+ complexity, intensity and persistence. This was a really pleasant surprise, both because the Prado and the Alto Rioja seemed not ready, but also because the highly acclaimed ‘05 I had of this bottling was just a bit disappointing. This wine did a great job of combining fruit and freshness, able to be enjoyed now with air with the promise it could get even better. This was the only wine I had today with food—interestingly, marinated bonito and peppers—and it worked surprisingly well, with the red fruit aspects taking precedence over the darker character. Somewhere in the middle of the Rioja spectrum to my non-expert Rioja mind, very good power with elegance, can be enjoyed on its own and should excel with food. Definitely shows the promise of the region. 94-95+

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