Contador 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015

Crítica

2022 / 97 puntos
The 2020 Contador feels a little more civilized than the 2021 I tasted next to it. The profile is similar—ripe dark fruit, spices, creamy oak (neatly integrated) and a touch of earth, smoke and toast. The palate is full-bodied and the tannins abundant and fine, and the wine comes through as ripe (15% alcohol) but in balance. It's approachable now but should get polished and more elegant with a few more years in bottle.
2019 / 97 puntos
The 2019 Contador was produced with Tempranillo from seven vineyards—El Bombón, El Cerezo, Bardallo, El Bosque, Vizcarra, La Tejera and La Nava—in the villages of San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Ábalos. The grapes were picked between September 28 and October 9; it fermented destemmed in oak vats and matured in new French oak barrels for 20 months. It's a powerful wine at 15.13% alcohol and a pH of 3.61, with generous oak and a creamy twist, ripe, concentrated and with abundant, fine-grained tannins. It's medium to full-bodied with balance and a long, dry, chalky finish. It needs a little more time but should make a long-lived Contador. Benjamín Romeo thinks this could be reminiscent of 2005 and 2010. 4,000 bottles were filled in June 2021.
2018 / 98 puntos
I like the austerity and seriousness of the 2018 Contador, which has very similar parameters as the 2019 but comes through as fresher and more balanced, with very fine tannins and pungent flavors and a long, dry and chalky finish. It's approachable now but should improve with time in bottle. Fermentation and élevage were the same as in 2019—oak vat and 20 months in new barriques, which are being absorbed without problems. It's rich and powerful but with elegance and lots of balance. It should be a classical and long-lived vintage of Contador. 4,500 bottles produced.
2017 / 97 puntos
I also tasted the 2017 Contador, which was very different from the 2016. This is showy, expressive, open and aromatic and seems to jump right out of the glass with decayed flowers, ripe wild berries and herbs. It's lush and round, even though the alcohol level is very similar to the 2016. It has a decadent nose that I remember from some vintages around the turn of the century, aromas that made us all think of a Burgundian expression of Tempranillo that we didn't know was possible. It has firm tannins, not as refined as those from the 2016 vintage. While approachable now, I'd wait a bit more to pull the cork. Considering the challenges of the 2017 vintage, this is a real triumph over the adverse conditions. 6,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2019 after 20 months in new French oak barrels.