Wine of the Week – Txakoli and a final fling of summer

Ameztoi with Getaria in the background, photo courtesy of the winery.

I have just returned from a wonderful trip to Australia and New Zealand and will be telling you about some of my experiences over there in the future.

In the meantime, I have returned to some very warm weather and so sought out some lovely fresh white wine to enjoy with some seafood so that I could properly celebrate this last fling of summer.

The wine I found was a Txakoli – Chacolí in Castilian Spanish – which comes from the País Vasco, Spain’s Autonomous Basque Region. Txakoli is a wine style that I love and have written about before, but until recently it has been considered somewhat obscure. Well now it is becoming much better known and easier to find and I discovered that Marks & Spencer carry a rather a good one. In fact I liked it so much that I made it my Wine of the Week.

Wine map of Spain, see Getariako Txakolina on the Atlantic coast to the east of Bilbao – click for a larger view.

2015 Alaia Txakoli
Amesguren
PDO / DO Getariako Txakolina
País Vasco
Spain

There are three Txakoli DOs, but, much as I like some other Txakoli wines – especially the great Itasas Mendi 7 from DO Bizkaiko Txakolina near Bilbao, try it if you can – UK stockists are here, US stockists here – I am especially drawn to the Getariako Txakolina that is grown on the wild coastline around the beautiful fishing village of Getaria 30km west of San Sebastian. Getaria is a wonderful place almost totally dedicated to hedonism, bars and restaurants line the streets. Much of the cooking is done outside, so the smell of grilling fish is a constant and guaranteed to make you hungry. In many ways it works to go there on your way to San Sebastian as it prepares you for the delights to come.

Getaria harbour.

Fish being cooked in Getaria.

One of the great pintxo bars in Getaria, note the sea urchin and octopus.

If you are a hedonist and like food and wine, then San Sebastian – Donostia in Basque – is a place you must visit. It is teeming with bars and life, the best tapas in Spain – they call them pintxos – and loads of Michelin star restaurants too, if that is your thing.

Txakoli should really be poured from a great hight into a tumbler – get a Txakoli pourer if you can.

My Txakoli being poured in San Sebastian, note the green Txakoli pourer in the end of the bottle, it helps to aerate the wine and they also use them for cider in the Basque country.

For more detail on Txakoli, read the piece that I wrote for Catavino a few years ago, by clicking here.

This particular wine is very clever sourcing by M&S, because the producer, Amesguren, are actually the people who make Ameztoi, which along with Txakolin Gorria, is considered the best producer of Getariako Txakolina. So we know the provenance of this wine is good and this wine has a better label than Ameztoi!

This wine is made from the local Hondarrabi Zuri – I wonder why nobody grows that anywhere else? – and has a light natural fizz from the fermentation, which makes it taste really fresh.

And that is the secret with this stuff, keeping it fresh, light and zesty. The nose is floral and citric and has a touch of the seashore and something saline about it. Then it just dances across your palate, light, fresh, zingy, spritz and yet with waves of flavour, lots of light flavour. Green apples, grapefruit, nettles, lime, blackcurrant leaf are all there, but in a sort of sketched in way, rather than in a fully formed picture. Instead this wine wins with a thrilling mineral and crisp acid finish that just whets your appetite for more – more of this, some seafood and anything else. What’s more it only has 10.5% alcohol, so won’t addle too many brain cells either.

A swankier pintxo bar in San Sebastian.

Try it with grilled prawns, scallops, oysters, sea bream, sea bass, sushi, a Chinese takeaway or on its own, anyway you have it, it’s a lovely wine – 89/100 points.

Available in the UK for £10 per bottle from Marks & Spencer – right now, September 2016 it is only £8 a bottle.
As far as I am aware, Alaia Txakoli is not available in the US, but Ameztoi is well distributed – for stockists click here.

La Cepa, perhaps the classic pintxo bar in San Sebastian.

 

Wine of the Week 26 – a deliciously tangy white

My Wine of the Week is a wine that I have actually written about before, different vintages though, but I always enjoy it so much and it so interesting and refreshingly different that it’s always worth another mention.

Earlier in the week I was invited to a wonderful wine dinner hosted by Joanna Simon. The theme was wines and food of South West France – or le Sud-Ouest – and it was in the trendy Boundary Restaurant in Shoreditch. The restaurant has a wine club which runs these wine themed evenings and a good time seems to be had as the food is quite superb and the restaurant is quite a beautiful place to be. In fact The Boundary fills a whole building and includes a hotel, a shop, café, bakery, bars and other restaurants and as if all that isn’t enough, there is also a rooftop bar.

Map of Southwest France including the A.C.s of Bergerac – click for a larger view – non watermarked PDF versions are available by agreement.

The evening was lovely with a delicious menu of rich, interesting French food including a main course of braised ox check, with smoked wild boar in stunningly rich sauce, and a blindingly good cheese board. The wines that partnered them were all from the delightfully disparate region that is South West France and they went very well indeed. My favourite though, or one of them anyway, was a tangy, zesty, aromatic and richly flavoursome dry white wine that was perfect with both the salad of Bayonne Ham with black truffle and the Ossau Iraty cheese.

Vineyards in Saint Mont.

2012 Saint Mont Les Vignes Retrouvées Blanc
A.C. / P.D.O. Saint Mont (still shown as Côtes de Saint-Mont on my map)
Plaimont Producteurs
Gascony, France
Plaimont are a cooperative and the leading producer in Saint Mont. As such they make a huge array of wines from everyday wines to more ambitious cuvées and they are never worse than decent. This little gem is quite special though, made from the region’s traditional ‘rediscovered’ grapes that give the wine it’s name, it is an exciting blend of 70% Gros Manseng, 20 % Petit Courbu and 10% Arrufiac. Gascony was originally the northern part of the Kingdom of Navarre (Navarra) and some of these grapes are grown over the border in Spain’s País Vasco to make Chacolí / Txakoli. In ancient times the people of Navarra were the Vascones tribe who later evolved into both the Basques and the Gascons.

It’s dry, medium-bodied and unoaked with a richly tangy citrus acidity and a richer stone fruit and pithy grapefruit palate with some creamy and honeyed intensity and texture to the fruit. This texture dominates the finish and makes it feel really succulent – 89/100 points.

Available in the UK at £7.95 per bottle from The Wine Society.

This is such a lovely white wine, so delicious and so interesting that it deserves a wider audience. It would be a great wine to keep on hand to serve guests throughout Christmas – unless they read this site they will never guess how inexpensive it is – and it will go perfectly with anything from a cheese straw to a full blown meal. What’s more it might open the delights of France’s South West up to you, it is a beautiful, varied and sadly underestimated wine region.

More information is available at southwestfrancewines.co.uk

Wine of the Week 12 – a lovely white for Summer

Legaris vineyards in Ribera del Duero.

During Summer – and actually the rest of the year too – I love drinking white wine.

I never understand people who only drink red wine as white can be so deliciously refreshing, cleansing and lively. What’s more it is easier to drink on its own than red and goes with a wide array of foods too, from nibbles and alfresco delights to a lovely piece of fish.

In Summer I seem to be especially drawn to a fresh and lively style of dry white wine that is going through something of a golden age right now – if you want good white wine it has never been better or more varied than it is today.

What’s more modern know how has made it possible for superb whites to be made in areas that were once exclusively famous for their red wines. Spain is the best illustration of this and it makes a wide array of superb white wines, from the aromatic delights of Galicia, the creamy barrel fermented Viuras of Rioja, the fine Chardonnays of Navarra, the zesty lively joys of Txakoli / Chacolí , the richer, creamier white Grenache / Garnachas of Terra Alta and Catalonia, the emerging Picapoll / Picpouls of northern Catalonia to the delicious Malvasias from the Canary Islands.

If the delights of Spanish white wines have passed you by, then perhaps the best place to start is with the superb region of Rueda in Castilla y León. Red wines are now permitted to be made in this Denominacion de Origen – D.O. -, but it was solely for white wines until recently. The focus is still white wines though and it makes some of Spain’s very best using Sauvignon Blanc and Viura, but the real speciality grape is the local Verdejo.

Rueda’s blends can be very good wines, but the very best wines from the region – in my opinion – are made from pure Verdejo. All the examples that I have ever tried are enjoyable, but some are outstanding and are amongst Spain’s very best white wines. I would include Analivia, Palacio de los Bornos and Protos amongst these, as well as my Wine of the Week: Legaris Rueda Verdejo. Like Protos, Legaris is really a red wine producer based in the stunning region of Ribera del Duero – this D.O. can only make reds and rosés -, but it doesn’t stop them turning out a superb dry white from grapes grown in nearby Rueda.

2013 Legaris Verdejo
Bodegas Legaris
D.O. Rueda, Castilla y León
Verdejo is a grape that oxidises easily – which is why historically they made Sherry-like wines out of it – but modern knowhow has meant that the grapes natural freshness can be retained. They grow the vines on trellises to maximise ripeness and harvest the grapes at night to retain the freshness and acidity. Cold fermentation at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks ensures the wine is fresh, lively and zesty, while a short maceration on the skins before fermentation adds flavour and texture to the wine, as does 2 months lees ageing after fermentation is complete.

If you like Sauvignon Blanc, then there is no doubt in my mind that you will like this too. The nose is floral and intensely citric – lime, lemon and grapefruit – and also offers an array of fresh herbs. The clever winemaking gives some texture, weight and succulence to the palate, which makes it juicy and deliciously easy to drink, while the acidity keeps it clean, fresh and vibrant. The finish is zesty and bright with a touch of attractive bitterness like almonds and olives at the end. This is a delicious and drinkable wine that goes superbly with a few garlic prawns and a salad, as well as some simply cooked fish or chicken. What’s more it is great value – 90/100 points.

Available in the UK at £8.49 per bottle from Ocado, Noble Green Wines and Wine Rack. Additional stockist information is available here.

Legaris wines are distributed in the US by Aveníu Brands. Additional stockist information is available here.

If Rueda and Verdejo have passed you by, then this is one of the best and it is a perfect wine to enjoy with Summer food. Give it a go, I am certain that you will enjoy this lovely wine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chacolí: The Wild Wine of Spain

I have written a piece about one of the most interesting wines in the world – Chacolí. Chacoli comes from Spain’s beautiful Basque region and the wines are a really unusual and thrilling style that is perfect with the local shellfish, they are mainly white, although a little red and rosé is made too. You can read the article here…

Pais Vasco here I come

vines growing on the slopes at Txakoli Talai Berri

I have long been fascinated by the Basque Country, how many other places can not only boast about using the oldest European language, but one that is related to no other? Basque is the last remaining pre-Indo-European language in Western Europe.

The Basque people have a vibrant history, a beautiful land, a prosperous present and a rich culture. It is widely considered to be the finest bit of Spain for gastronomy, both for swanky meals and tapas, called pintxos locally. It also produces some of the most thrilling wines in Spain today – which is really saying something as I consider Spain to be one of the most exciting wine producing countries in the world.

Pink basque – no stockings

As you know, I love Chacoli – those white wines from the Basque region are so lively, refreshing and delicious.

Well a few years ago Ameztoi created the first rosé Chacoli and it is a lovely, if rare wine. I was fortunate enough to try the 2008 vintage recently and I highly recommend that you beg, steal or buy a bottle – it is splendid summer drinking.