Benjamin Romeo

Born on September 4, 1964, in San Vicente de la Sonsierra (in the Rioja Alta region of northern Spain), Romeo comes from a family tradition of viticulture and studied oenology (wine science) in Madrid before beginning his professional career. Early on he worked with the innovative Rioja winery Artadi, where he honed his skills from the mid‑1980s until 2000.

In 1995 he acquired a centuries‑old wine cave beneath the castle at San Vicente de la Sonsierra and began making wine under his own label, first producing La Cueva del Contador (1996), and then in 1999 releasing the first vintage of his flagship wine, Contador. By carefully sourcing fruit from old, low‑yield Tempranillo vineyards and meticulous winemaking, Romeo’s Contador wines quickly gained international renown.

Contador became an icon of modern Rioja when Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate awarded it 100 points in consecutive years (2004 and 2005) — a rare achievement that elevated Romeo’s reputation globally and placed his wines alongside the most collectible in Spain.

Today, under Benjamin Romeo’s leadership, Bodega Contador continues to produce a range of highly regarded wines — primarily from Tempranillo and other traditional Rioja grapes — including Contador, La Cueva del Contador, Predicador (including both red and white), and vineyard‑specific expressions such as Benjamín Romeo Colección Nº1 Parcela La Liende and others.