Txakolina has taken the wine loving crowd by storm over the last few years. Somms and bacchanalian revelers alike adore the bright, dry, saline, fizzy fun that each bottle provides. But with success comes imitation, and the production levels in Basque country have soared in the past decade or two. That’s why today’s discovery is so refreshing–literally and figuratively! The Zudugarai clan has been making textbook Txakolina in Getaria for over 75 years, and that history and knowledge helps them produce what I believe is the most authentic iteration of these wildly popular wines. The slight effervescence is completely natural, farming is meticulous, and winemaking is gentle and low-intervention. And, you get all that delicious, refreshing tradition for next to nothing. Spring officially starts tomorrow, let this be your harbinger, and buy it by the case!
Before I continue, let's chat languages. All Basque wines have essentially two names, one in Euskara (aka Basque) and one in Spanish. For the rest of this article I’ll use the Euskara name for this lovely wine, which is Getariako Txakolina, instead of the Spanish, which would be Txakolí de Getaria. But either way you say it, the important take away is that the town of Getaria just directly out into the Bay of Biscay, and the vineyards that cover the hills just outside of town are widely considered to be the “heart” of the Txacolina production area–think of it as the “classico” zone. It’s a cold, wet, Atlantic-influenced climate, with soils of mostly alluvial deposits of gravel and sand mixed with chalky clay and limestone. The local grapes—the high-acid Hondarrabi Zuri and Hondarrabi Belza—may not have been considered “noble” varieties in the past, but the light bodied, salty, and mineral driven wines they produce are now very much in vogue.
The current fascination with Txacolina must be both welcome and somewhat surprising to the Zudugarai clan, as they have been growing grapes and making these wines for some 80 years, long before they had any real market outside of nearby San Sebastian. What sets these guys apart from their neighbors (which increase almost every year due to the ability to quickly ramp up vineyard plantings and wine production here) is that they do everything old-school and natural. That means they never add CO2 to the tank–a common practice to add extra bubbles–but instead simply seal the tank before fermentation is complete in order to trap the effervescence that occurs naturally. In the vines they are practicing biodynamics, which is extremely difficult in this cool, wet environment. But they want to make something that is truly authentic, and also completely in tune with the natural environment, but completely delicious too!
To achieve this, the Hondarrabi Zuri grapes are hand-picked and gently pressed before being transformed into a racy, bone-dry, slightly effervescent white—dangerously easy to drink but worth your full attention. Extended lees contact imparts roundness and depth, while unmistakable salinity from the nearby Bay of Biscay keeps things piercingly fresh. Notes of lime zest, green apple, peony, dried herbs and nectarine dance across your palate before disappearing with a clean mineral flourish. You’ll feel like Hemingway after your second bottle...which really isn’t too much when you consider the delightfully low alcohol and all the appetizers in between. And besides, at this price you can afford to keep extra on hand at all times!
