Bodegas Contador La Cueva del Contador, Rioja DOCa, Spain

康塔多酒莊副牌紅葡萄酒

點擊次數：15194

I found cleaner aromas and a fresher quality and finer tannins in the 2019 La Cueva del Contador, a quite complete wine with elegance and finesse combined with power and concentration. The oak is still noticeable after 18 months in new barriques, and I'd wait a little longer before pulling the cork. It has the perfume of La Cueva in the background. It should resurface with a little more time in bottle. 10,000 bottles produced.

I found iron-like, blood and meat aromas in the 2018 La Cueva del Contador, pure Tempranillo that fermented in oak vats and matured in new French barriques for 19 months. It felt cold and a little earthy with a faint animal twist. The wine has some dusty tannins and 14.8% alcohol with a pH of 3.66. 18,000 bottles produced.

I love the voluptuous and expressive 2017 La Cueva del Contador, a preview of what's to come with the big brother in this challenging year. It's floral and perfumed, elegant and powerful, with some spicy oak and a surprisingly velvety texture, with super-fine tannins and great purity and balance. Here, you don't feel the 15% alcohol, all the components are in harmony. Like the rest of reds, it fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in new barrels, for 19 months in this case. It reminded me of the brilliant 2012. I consider it a real triumph over the adverse conditions of the year. 12,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2019.

A wine I hadn't tasted for a while and usually a favorite of mine, the 2016 La Cueva del Contador is a Tempranillo selection from 40- to 60-year-old vines that fermented in small oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in French oak barrels for 18 months. It's the most elegant and perfumed within the modern, ripe, concentrated and powerful house style. It feels like a very concentrated Burgundy on steroids, combining elegance with power. 13,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2018.

There is no Contador and none of the other top wines were produced in 2013, only this cuvée and Predicador were bottled from that vintage. So the 2013 La Cueva del Contador got the best grapes they could produce in that challenging year. It is pure Tempranillo fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in new French oak barrels for 18 months. It has a clean, perfumed, subtle nose, very floral and sleek, polished and insinuating. It's really aromatic and open, with notes of spices (curry, nutmeg), aromatic herbs and wild berries; it turns more and more balsamic with time in the glass. The palate is silky, with an earthy touch, elegant but with personality, with sophisticated tannins and good acidity. Balanced and elegant. This is a great wine whose only problem is having a big brother called Contador. Wait, there is no Contador in 2013... 11,000 bottles produced.