Barco del Corneta Prapetisco

There's marked earthiness and rusticity in the red 2020 Prapetisco despite being the freshest and most immediate of the vintages produced so far. It was produced with Juan García grapes from the Arribes zone (but sold as VT de Castilla y León, like all the wines here). It's a warm zone, Fermoselle, where they found three hectares of 60- to 80-year-old vines on granite soils that are farmed organically (as all their vineyards, but this one is not certified). The destemmed grapes fermented in open vats with low extraction and even pressing half of the wine before fermentation finished. It matured in a used 1,500-liter oak foudre for 12 months followed by a further four months in stainless steel. It has some herbal notes and is earthy and has good ripeness but with no excess. It has 13.8% alcohol and a medium-bodied palate with abundant, slightly dusty tannins and a dry finish. 1,856 bottles were filled in May 2022.

This is the second time I tasted the 2016 Prapetisco, the one red produced at the winery with grapes (mainly Juan García) from the zone of Fermoselle in Arribes del Duero. I still find plenty of rusticity here, which I suspect is inherent to the variety, with earthy sensations intermixed with some floral notes and a medium-bodied palate with dusty tannins, in line with what I tasted last time. 1,950 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2018 and seems to evolve slowly.