2009 Benjamin Romeo Predicador

The 2009 Predicador is a blend of 89% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and a cheeky 1% Viura, the fruit sourced from San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Briones and Labastida and then aged in one-year-old French oak for 12 months. It offers brambly red fruit on the well-defined nose, with wild strawberry and cranberry aromas, and a scent of wild hedgerow in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannins on the entry. It is tight at the moment, perhaps just a little disjointed, needing 12 to 24 months in bottle to coalesce. But it displays great purity with a structured, citric finish. Drink 2013-2018. One of the most memorable days in Rioja was spending an afternoon in the company of the inimitable Benjamin Romeo, the tour de force behind Bodega Contador. We flitted from one patch of twisted ancient vines to another, mainly around the medieval village of San Vincente, Romeo again and again propounding his mantra that terroir creates great wine. This involved one perilous drive through vegetation as thick as the Amazon until the 4x4 exited into a parcel of century-old, gnarly Tempranillo vines (upon which he mentioned that they were far more accessible on foot). Since leaving Artadi in 2000, he has gradually acquired around 80 parcels of old vine material, vinifying the fruit in a simple, modern, efficient winery, inaugurated in 2007, a facility that places functionality over aesthetic charms. Benjamin himself comes across as an intense, passionate, uncompromising winemaker, a little distant and apprehensive at first, but warming to someone who is patently interested in terroir. Bodega Contador is certainly a slick operation, fastidious down to the last detail, resulting in a set of sumptuous, silky smooth, curvaceous Rioja wines that are seductive, yet deserve considerable cellaring. Moving on to the 2010s, readers should note that these were bottled a week prior to my tasting them. Although Romeo’s name is synonymous with “modern” Rioja, he told me that he wished to make a classical wine for his mother, whom he described as a “classical woman” and fancied a “change of scene.” Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565