Counter 2018

6 bottles of Contador 2018. Rioja, Spain.
Red wine. 75 cl.
Sealed box; opened only for inspection and photography.
Level: A.
Capsule: original, in good condition.
Labels in good condition.
See images to check condition of label, capsule and level.

Provenance: Private collection. Kept in private cellar, in horizontal position, with controlled temperature and humidity.

El Contador is one of the most prestigious red wines in Spain, produced by Bodega Contador under the DOCa Rioja and created by winemaker Benjamín Romeo. It is the winery's icon wine, highly valued by critics and enthusiasts for its quality, complexity and longevity. It is considered a wine that can continue to evolve in the bottle for many years, developing greater complexity and softening its tannins even more. Romeo himself personally controls the entire process until the wine is shipped, including the selection and management of the vineyards, the strict monitoring of the grapes' ripeness and development, their classification and manual destemming. French Allier oak tanks are used for fermentation and maceration, and aging takes place in new French oak barrels.

The history of Bodega Contador began in 1995, when winemaker and viticulturist Benjamín Romeo acquired a century-old cave under the castle of San Vicente de la Sonsierra (La Rioja). In 1996 he produced there the first vintage of his wine "La Cueva del Contador" and began to buy vineyards for his winemaking project. During the following years he carried out small-scale vinifications in the cave and continued acquiring vineyards. In 1999 he produced the first vintage of his wine "Contador". During 2001, Benjamín Romeo fitted out the garage of his parents' house in San Vicente to make wine. In this way he increased the winemaking capacity offered by the cave. The magazine of the US wine critic Robert Parker awarded the highest rating (100 points) to the 2004 and 2005 vintages of "Contador", made in the garage. This recognition, unprecedented in Spain, boosts the brand's international prestige. Between 2004 and 2006, Benjamín Romeo developed the project for his current winery with architect Héctor Herrera.

**The images of each lot are the actual images of the object and, therefore, are part of the cataloguing. The buyer accepts that the condition of the wine is shown in the images and/or in the description, and that the content and fragility of the cork and the seal are not the responsibility of Setdart Auctions.