Great Rioja Wine from Benjamin Romeo- the boy from San Vicente makes good

The Riojano city of San Vicente de la Sonsierra is a very important city in the Rioja wine trade and Benjamin Romeo, former winemaker at the Vina Artadi winery  struck out on his own when he purchased a "cueva" or cave cut from the living rock beneath the city in 1996.He then began acquiring vineyard plots on his way to becoming a wine producer or "bodeguero". Until 1999 his vinification was conducted at the cueva until he graduated to his parent's garage. for the 2001-2007 period.

His philosophy is to acquire or source the oldest vines with the best terroir and to produce the best wine he can make. His top wine "Contador" is declassified into the "Cueva del Contador" unless it really is optimal in every way. The wines crafted in his parent's garage have received worldwide recognition and represent the best that Rioja is capable of. His 2004 Contador received 100 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. His wine recieve  accolades from Decanter (generally 5 stars and "amazing") and raves (and high scores) from the spanish wine publication Guia Penin. As the success continued and he moved into a new state of the art winery in the vineyards of Sonsierra the wines got bigger and better. His style in the top wines, Contador and Cueva del Contador tend to the highly extracted and super concentrated ripe flavors that he favors. He always destems and uses whole cluster fermentation. We've been fortunate to receive a small allocation of the excellent 2006 Cueva del Contador CLICK to buy which we sell for about $50, well under the release price of nearly $100/bottle! the 2006 received a rating of 94 points from Robert Parker.
   The new winery was opened June 21, 2008, coinciding with the summer solstice. The buildings are designed in three terraced levels that all connect and blend in with the hillside vineyards in which they are situated and which enable fruit and juice to be moved by gravity. So the local boy from San Vicente made good and became a wine rock star.