Gorka Izagirre White

Tasting note:

Aromas of green apple, white blossom, lime, zesty grapefruit and greengage. The palate is bright and zesty with citrus acidity and an underlying minerality and bright salinity. A balanced and pure wine with a refreshing bitter finish.

Bodega Gorka Izagirre

"Just outside Bilbao, high above the main road and conveniently 15 minutes from the airport, lies Bodega Gorka Izagirre , a fairly new and enthusiastically patriotic Biscayan winery, named after its owner and financed by a logistics company that is undoubtedly more profitable than the wine business. The latter has "massive investment" written all over it - in the vineyards, the modern winery and the associated three-star restaurant Azurmendi. The Izagirre ideology is based on a desire to preserve and promote Txakoli, an integral part of local culture and tradition, not just the name of a wine. (The Castilian spelling Chacoli gives a better idea of how the name should be pronounced; Txakoli is the Basque spelling.)

Gorka_Izagirre You can find out more about this operation and the varieties they have planted at Recuperating Txacoli . In the meantime, I would recommend this particular wine as an excellent introduction to the best wines of Biscay: cool, refined and persistent, characterised by a restraint and freshness that comes from a region strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and refreshed by as much rain as falls in the British city of Manchester. If you have ever been to a bar or restaurant in Bilbao, San Sebastian or anywhere along the Bay of Biscay, you have probably poured yourself a tumble of the local white wine, Txakoli, but Gorka Izagirre is vastly superior to what is often a watery and rather bland drink.

It is a blend of equal parts of two local varieties, Hondarribi* Zuri (Courbu Blanc) and Hondarribi Zerratia (Petit Courbu), matured on the lees but without any oak influence.

Gorka Izagirre