Qué Bonito Cacareaba 2023 is the great white wine from Bodega Contador made from a trio of Rioja varieties. The fruits of garnacha blanca, viura, and malvasía that make up this magnificent wine come from old, low-yield vineyards in the municipalities of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Leza, and Briones, in one of the best production areas of the D.O.Ca. Rioja.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
General features
Type of wine
Region
Grape variety
Type of barrel
New French oak barrels
Type of bottle
Burgundy Bottle
Barrel aging time
9 months
Capacity (cl)
75
General Information
Qué Bonito Cacareaba 2023 is one of the great white wines of Rioja. Benjamín Romeo, former winemaker of Artadi and founder and alma mater of Bodega Contador, leaves his talented imprint on this creation born from the wise blend of three native white varieties (garnacha, viura, and malvasía), originating from 18 small plots, whose average yield per vine does not exceed one kilogram of grapes.
After the strict manual selection of these scarce fruits and their destemming, the berries, without being crushed, were cold macerated for 24 hours. Once this step was completed, the must fermented in new 225-liter French oak barrels, where it also aged for 9 months, with weekly batonagge. The result is Qué Bonito Cacareaba 2023, an excellent Rioja wine with aromatic intensity, freshness, body, and interesting aging potential.
Tasting notes
In appearance, it displays an intense yellow color with greenish reflections.
On the nose, it features fine and elegant aromas of citrus and aromatic herbs, along with notes of white flowers, stone fruits (plum, apricot), and hints of spices and smokiness.
On the palate, it is fine, fresh, and well-structured, with the good integration of wood promising excellent potential for aging and development. An elegant, acidic, and fresh wine that exudes minerality and elegance.
The winery
Benjamín Romeo is one of the most prominent figures among those local winemakers who renewed Rioja in the nineties. His wine Contador catapulted him to international glory. A revolutionary Rioja with which he achieved, in two consecutive vintages (2004 and 2005), the 100 Parker points, the highest international recognition for a wine. The meticulous care of the vineyard explains the quality of his range of wines, conceived as a reflection of the environment and the terroir.
The history of Bodegas Contador began in 1995, in a small garage winery. And it was literally "garage," as his first wines fermented in a garage, while the aging process took place in a cave dug into the hillside, traditionally used for winemaking and aging: the Contador cave. After leaving Artadi in 1999, where he worked as a winemaker, Benjamín Romeo devoted all his attention to his personal project.
A great connoisseur of the area, he gradually acquired small vineyards around San Vicente de Sonsierra (D.O.Ca. Rioja), on the slopes of the Sierra de Toloño, which met high-quality standards: old vines on poor soils, with different exposures and altitudes. In 2008, he inaugurated a new and spectacular winery in the middle of the vineyards of San Vicente de la Sonsierra.