Tasting base wines with Corpinnat producers

Now in its third year, the tasting of base wines hosted by Corpinnat, the sparkling wine association in Penedès, has become one of the most anticipated events  in the orbit of Barcelona Wine Week (BWW). 

Held in Barcelona on the Sunday before the fair, this tasting draws a diverse crowd of professionals and wine lovers, eager to deepen their understanding of sparkling wine production. For example, Gramona offered visitors the opportunity to sample the individual Xarel.lo and Macabeo base wines destined for III Lustros 2024 followed by the blend of the two, which still needs to undergo secondary fermentation in the bottle -and which tasted significantly greater than the sum of its parts. To complete the journey, Gramona poured the current 2016 release of III Lustros.

The 2024 growing season in Penedès was marked by an unprecedented infestation of green mosquito and a sharp drop in yields, exacerbated after several years of ongoing drought. Corpinnat reported an average yield of 3,666 kg/ha -an unusually low figure for sparkling wines and even modest for quality still wines. As a result, the base wines showed appealing sweet fruit aromas balanced by bitter tones, although the acidity was often less pronounced than in previous vintages.

Of the 10% of non-historical varieties permitted, many producers admitted the ongoing difficulties of growing Chardonnay, as the cycle is increasingly shorter and the yields are particularly low.  

A mosaic of styles and grape varieties

These are some of the base wines and current releases that caught our attention, with a special mention for those including Sumoll in the blend.

• Among the single-varietal base wines, we liked the aerial, vertical and vibrant Parellada from high-altitude vineyards, which makes up 50% of the Huguet Brut Nature blend. The Xarel.lo destined for Vinya del Rascará from Buffadors-Recaredo's Ton Mata personal project with his wife Encarna Castillo- offered delicate aniseed notes. Recaredo’s Macabeo 2024, which will find its way into the Reserva Particular, displayed a bright citrus character and a seamless balance of sweet, acidic and bitter flavours.

• Júlia Bernet has rebranded most of its sparkling wines with the names of its vineyards, located at different altitudes in the Ordal massif. It was interesting to compare the tight and riper Xarel.lo from the Feixes de la Font vineyard with the less structured, yet vibrant expression from Barraca dels Coscons. The latter's current 2018 release showed creamy bubbles and fine petrol-like aromas.

• Llopart proved its blending skills at balancing the warm profile of the 2024 vintage and adding complexity to the 2025 Leopardi cuvée, made up of 45% Xarel.lo, 40% Macabeo and 15% Parellada. We highly recommend the current 2017 release: complex, lively and with fine bitter notes on the finish.

• Nadal’s base wines for Salvatge Brut showed potential: a Macabeo with excellent acidity, a creamy Xarel.lo and a Parellada that already reveals petrol aromas.

• Sabaté i Coca's base wines, starting with its entry-level Castellroig, showed excellent acidity and precision. Marcel Sabaté strongly advocates limiting juice yields to 50% to preserve acidity, alongside lower grape yields to bring forward the harvest. The firm, almost youthful 2014 Reserva Familiar was proof that freshness can endure over time. It was the oldest vintage we tasted at the event.

• Among current releases, Gran Torelló 2016 stood out for its complexity and creamy mouthfeel. Made from Penedès’ classical three white varieties, it is aged for seven years.   

Sumoll changes everything

This statement comes from Ramón Parera, co-owner of Pardas, a winery renowned for its still wines made from Xarel.lo and Sumoll. Pardas joined Corpinnat in 2021, a year before the release of its first sparkling wine. Committed to these two varieties from the start, the winery will release Els Pagesos 2017, a sparkling wine made entirely from Sumoll limited to just 1,000 bottles (€58). In a warm and concentrated vintage, this rustic red variety offers structure, red fruit aromas, a bitter background and an austere quality that promises an interesting evolution after disgorgement. A subtler but similar character was evident in the Hermós 2024 base wine, made from Xarel.lo (65%) and Sumoll (35%).

Other wineries incorporating Sumoll into their blends include Mas Candí and Can Descregut. Sumoll, along with Xarel.lo, makes up the 50% of Mas Candí's Indomable. The base wine had floral aromas but showed power and tension on the palate. In Can Descregut's Fumissola, Sumoll is pressed and fermented with 60% Xarel.lo Vermell to produce a particularly intense and slightly wild style. Even in small percentages, Sumoll injects extra energy. This is the case with Cisteller's longest aged cuvée, where just 15% Sumoll lifted the blend. Cisteller is the latest winery to join Corpinnat.
Sparkling wines blending various amounts of Sumoll might not be crowd-pleasers, but they certainly offer a distinct personality and are somewhat unique, as the variety is not authorised in the DO Cava.

An interesting takeaway from the event: since 2018, all Corpinnat producers have been using concentrated must from the same vintage for the tirage. According to Arantxa de Cara of Can Descregut, this practice helps to integrate the bubbles and results in a better balanced palate.