The Basque Country - Rioja Alavesa and Txakoli

07-Jul-10 - I've done a couple of jobs for the Basque regional government this year, with a tasting at the London International Wine Fair for the generic body which looks after Rioja Alavesa (see post of 18-May-10) and a presentation (well, two) at Lord's on 07-Jul-10 which covered not just the wines of the Rioja Alavesa but also those of Txakoli. There were only four exhibitors in this latter category, but it was a very useful opportunity to taste wines from all three Txakoli zones without driving hundreds of kilometres.

Rioja Alavesa first, though: over the two events I was able to taste current vintages from a number of bodegas. These were those which were part of the presentation, tasted in reverse vintage order, and all mainly Tempranillo:

2007 Inspiración, Bodegas Valdemar (10% Graciano, 10 months oak) - nice, warm berry fruit, some richness and a hint of toasty oak on the nose, lovely 'silky' feel and good warm ripe fruit on the palate, a nice, gentle length on the finish with soft tannins - 17/20

 Notes: Bodegas Valdemar used to be called Bodegas Martínez-Bujanda, based in Oion (Oyón), but it changed its named to main wine brand - Conde de Valdemar - in 2003. Carlos Martínez-Bujanda explained that the Inspiración range was an opportunity to 'do something different' in a new winery. He subsequently sent me sample of the whole of the range which are extremely good, especially the Tempranillo Blanco. They claim that this is the only white Tempranillo in the world: the grape was a mutation of the red, and the bodega propagated it. It has lovely, fresh, crisp fruit and, if there were more of it, would be a serious rival to the Viura (more on the Inspiración range in a later post).

2007 AGNVS Crianza, Bodegas Valdelana (5% Graciano, 22 months French and Russian oak) - smoky, perfumed fruit with a good 'meaty' mid-palate and soft, crispy tannins on the finish - delicious - 17/20

Notes: Valdelana was also showing 2007 Centum Vitis, made from grapes from 100-year-old pre-phylloxera vines (in a vineyard surrounded by sandy soils, which is how they survived) with malolactic plus 8 months in new Alliers oak. This was a magnificent symphony of spice, chocolate, soft fruit and fresh acidity - 19/20

2006 Martín Cendoya Reserva, Bodegas Heredad Ugarte (15% Graciano and Mazuelo, 20 months oak) - fabulous perfume, lovely, subtle aromatics, musky fruit and tannins and a long, delicious finish with fruit dominant - 18/20

 

Notes: Martín Cendoya was a viticulturist and one of the co-founders of the bodega, along with his brother-in-law Victorino Eguren (of that ilk), in 1957.

2005 Fos Reserva, Bodegas Fos (25% Graciano, 22 months French and American oak) - very subtle perfume: classic Rioja Alavesa nose, big, juicy fruit and fresh acidity on the palate, clear, bright and god length with some musky tannins on the finish - 16½/20

Notes: this is a 'château-style' bodega, founded in 2005 and sitting within its own 20 ha of vineyards.

2004 Leteo, Bodegas Heredad de Aduna (12 months French and American oak) - smoky-oaky nose, some dark fruit, but big, musky fruit on the palate and a hint of tannin on the finish - 16/20

 Notes: this is a family company, founded in 1945 and with 30 ha of its own vineyards.

2004 Izarbe Selección, Bodegas Larchago (24 months French oak) - soft, gentle Tempranillo perfume with 'spiky' strawberry notes on the nose, big, warm spice and power on the palate with excellent ripeness and a long finish, still with fresh acidity - 18/20

Notes: another family concern, established in 1968 with a new bodega built in 1998.

The tasting was a great success, and the bodegas (which were all exhibiting at the fair) reported increased interest in the Rioja Alavesa.

Fast forward to Lord's nursery pavilion and a presentation of the wider Basque wine offering, including 30-plus exhibitors, of which four were from Txakoli country. I managed to meet some old friends, including Fernández de Piérola, (who had sent me samples of his new Ribera del Duero wines: the red is excellent, the rosado is spectacular - more on this in a future post), Bodegas Ostatu, which I visited about 18 months ago with a consultancy client from Singapore, Remírez de Ganuza, whose wines are truly exemplary (the 2005 reserva has characteristic hot spice, big structure and crispy tannins on the finish - 18/20 - more on this in a future post), and Marqués de Riscal, whose wines I seem to have known for ever.

However, I'd like to major on the Txakoli exhibitors because, as I said before, it's not often that you get the chance to taste wines from all three regions in the same place. These were they, mostly made from the white Hondarribi Zuri (other varieties in brackets where appropriate):

Okendo Txakolina (DO Arabako Txakolina) spent 15 years growing and selling grapes from their own 7 ha of vineyards to the local co-op (which is confusingly named Arabako Txakolina). They founded their own bodega two years ago and have marketed their own wine since.

Okendo Bodega. Pic.: Okendo website

2009 Señorío de Astorbiza (15% Petit Courbu, 35% Gros Manseng) - lovely, soft, fresh, crisp, delicious fruit - 16/20

2009 Malkoa Joven - really bright, fresh fruit, crisp acidity, a real glugger and absolutely delicious - 17/20

2009 Gorabie Joven (20% Petit Courbu, 20% Gros Manseng) - equally fresh and crisp but with some underlying warmth and richness - 16/20

Txakoli Oxinbaltza (DO Bizkaiko Txakolina) has been in business since 2004 and has 23 ha of vines.

 Oxinbaltza bodega. Pic.: Oxinbaltza website

2009 Oxinbaltza (with Petit Courbu) - good and fresh on the foretaste with some warmth on the mid-palate and a lipsmacking length - 16/20

Txakoli Talai Berri (DO Getariako Txakolina) is one of the oldest-established bodegas in the region (1750), now into the fifth generation of the family, and situated on the Camino de Santiago. The modern cellar was built in 1992 in the middle of 12 ha of vineyards.

 Talai Berri Bodega. Pic.: Talai Berri website

2009 Talai Berri Blanco (10% Hondarribi Beltza) - fresh, clean, delicious fruit and a rather lower acidity than some of the previous wines, lovely balance - 17/20

2009 Finka Jakue - 'Jakue' is the Basque spelling of Santiago - this has the freshness and fruit of the blanco, but with an added weight and balance - 17/20

2008 Talai Berri Tinto (100% Hondarribi Beltza) - a real rarity: they have just 1½ ha of this local red variety  and it has a lovely, light, musky, almost 'chewy' fruit, not dissimilar to that of the Cabernet-Franc, with a hint of liquorice on the finish -18/20

Txomin Etxaniz (DO Getariako Txakolina) another old-established family concern, with roots going back to 1649, this winery has had an export presence in the UK for many years. Today they have 40 ha of vines plus 15 under contract, and this was the site of my first ever visit to Txakoli country, in 1995. The DO was established in 1990 and the wines were routinely slagged-off by every wine-writer in the business, but I discovered that I was the first UK journalist who had actually been there.

Txomin Etxaniz - the old bodega in Getaria. Pic.: Txomin Etxaniz website

2009 Txomin Etxaniz (10% Hondarribi Beltza) - lovely soft fruit on the nose, big fruit on the palate with excellent balance, structure and complexity - 17/20 - This wine was selected for the 2010 dinner of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino.

The title of the Lord's event was 'Seek the Sensational - enjoy a new wine discovery from the old world', and on this showing, for me at least, it certainly achieved its objectives.

Special thanks to Lucia Artaza at the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce, and Claire Felstead of Freshwater PR for organising the events.

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