In April we took part in the first vertical tasting of Barco del Corneta, the white made in La Seca by Beatriz Herranz and Félix Crespo with a low-tech approach to the Verdejo variety. Seven vintages were tasted, from the current 2022 release to 2013. "We have always wanted to make wines capable of ageing. One of our winemaking goals is to think in the long term," said both producers.
Barco del Corneta seeks to reflect the character of the vineyard planted by Beatriz Herranz and her mother in the Cantarranas site in La Seca in 2008 - Félix Crespo, who worked previously at Belondrade, joined the project in 2016. Barco del Corneta is the name of the pine forest surrounding the plot. In this article published in 2022 you can read more about the origins of the winery. Although the vineyard lies within the DO Rueda boundaries, the wine has always been sold under the VT Castilla y León designation. Currently 12,000 to 14,000 bottles are produced at a price around €20-22 in Spain.
Barco del Corneta is a hand-harvested organic Verdejo, fermented in barrel and aged for nine months in 300-, 500- and 600-litre French and Austrian oak casks. In an effort to avoid a technological style, the wine sees some light oxidation. This helps to assess the character of the vintage and the consistency or fragility of the musts. "In warm vintages, the must oxidises more quickly," Crespo points out.
After a series of warm vintages, particularly 2022 and 2023, some decisions have been taken to manage the vineyard, which is dry-farmed: cover crops are used in alternate rows because the Beatriz and Félix believe that more water is retained than lost. "The cover keeps the moisture in and serves as mulching", they say, and the inter row weeder is used in all rows.
In terms of winemaking, oak has always been in the background, but since 2020 the pair feels that the fruit is gaining balance so more new wood is being used. If there is one thing Barco del Corneta has proved in its short history, it is that quality Verdejo can be made from young vines. The plants are now 16 years old and Beatriz and Félix report that the ideal balance is reached at 5,000 kg/ha.
Below are our impressions of the wines. The vintages are listed from youngest to oldest, in the order in which they were served. Of the most recent vintages, 2019 was not included because there were not enough bottles available. The pandemic significantly reduced production and most of the bottles were sold abroad.
As for the closure, a key element in wine development, natural cork was used until the 2018 vintage when it was replaced by Diam 5 from 2018 and Diam 10 from 2022 onwards. For the producers, this adjustment has meant a slower evolution of the wines from 2018 onwards.
Barco del Corneta 2022. This was a difficult harvest to read due to the number of heat waves that forced the plants to shut down on several occasions. Ripening was so uneven that several picking rounds had to be carried out in the vineyard. However, the result is quite remarkable. The wine is very clean, with notes of citrus, white and stone fruit. On the palate, the fruit is riper, but with good structure and great potential to develop. The dry stone notes on the finish add seriousness and character.
Barco del Corneta 2021. Generally speaking, this is a cooler vintage, with more rainfall and somewhat higher acidity. The colour, in fact, shows greener nuances than 2022. The nose is perhaps less intense and fruit-driven, with a stronger presence of dry-stone notes. The palate is quite full and structured, almost Burgundian-like, keeping the mineral edge on the finish. It will be very interesting to follow its evolution in bottle.
Barco del Corneta 2020. The main challenge of this vintage was the very wet spring, which caused severe outbreaks of downy mildew. On the positive side, the lockdown allowed the growers to concentrate on the vineyards. This was one of our favourite vintages of the tasting. Very fine aromas, with floral notes (white flowers) and dried herbs giving way to citrus notes as the wine opens up in the glass. On the palate, the wine had great depth, and the interplay between the opulence of the fruit and the seriousness brought by the salty edge and dry stone notes worked particularly well, taking the wine to a higher level of complexity.
Barco del Corneta 2018. After a wet, cool spring, this was the first vintage with a significant outbreak of downy mildew. Despite a mild summer, a heatwave in late August and early September dictated an early and speedy harvest. "It was at this point that we learned that the green notes we were getting in the must did not show up later in the wine, so we could work with lower alcohol levels," explained Félix Crespo. The wine had a greenish gold colour. It was a little reduced at first, but then opened up with aromas of dried herbs and tea, with some dairy notes from the oak. The lees were more evident than in other vintages, perhaps with more concentration on the palate, but without losing the mineral, salty finish.
Barco del Corneta 2017. The harvest was marked by a widespread frost at the end of April and a fairly warm summer. This was the first vintage for Félix Crespo at the winery, and he brought with him a moderate approach to the ripening of the grapes. In the vertical tasting, however, the vintage left its mark, with a stronger presence of ripe stone fruit and a warmer overall character. The wine felt completely open and was the most opulent of the flight.
Barco del Corneta 2014. This textbook vintage, one of the most balanced in the history of the brand according to Beatriz, showed all the elements that define the style of Barco del Corneta, especially the chalky, dry stone character and the salinity on the finish. There wasn't much fruit on the nose. Instead, there were petrol notes. This reductive character, favoured by many aficionados, added complexity to the wine.
Barco del Corneta 2013. The first Barco de Corneta was made in 2010, almost as an experiment, and subsequent vintages were produced in limited quantities. From 3,000 bottles made in 2012, production jumped to 9,000 bottles in 2013. This was the first vintage made in rented facilities in Medina del Campo, where Beatriz believes the project really took off. The wine showed a clear evolution, with oxidative notes on the nose, although the acidity kept the palate going. Not bad for a vineyard that was only five years old at the time.
