ESPAÑA

ROCKIN’ RIOJA FROM RODA

This has been a rather interesting story since the onset. When we first ran into the label years ago, it was one of the more impressive newcomers we had seen. Yes it was Rioja within the definition of the appellation, but somehow there was a deeper color, plumper mouth feel, and bluer fruit than we had generally experienced in our extensive ‘research’ with a variety of labels in the region. We took this fresher fruit style to be a more modern but very successful take on the genre and we were big fans in those early years.

Some time later, new offerings from Roda seemed to miss the mark, and what had been an exciting new source for us previously was eclipsed by a number of things we found as we continued our research into the region. We weren’t as enthusiastic in seeking out the newest releases and, for a time, we didn’t see the wine at all. A couple of years ago the Roda label reappeared with a new distributer and clearly had rediscovered their mojo. This 2019, essentially their second tier bottling, is the best Roda we have tasted in that series.

Roda’s history isn’t as lengthy as some of the bodegas in the region. Their explanation is “in the late 80’s, a new generation renews the vine and wine sector. Carmen Daurella and Mario Rotllant arrived in La Rioja with the firm intention of creating a project able to provide the world of winemaking with something new. This is where a fascinating, ambitious, exigent and unprecedented adventure began: Bodegas Roda.” We aren’t sure what that means but they seem to be doing everything right.

Their fruit comes only from their estate vineyards and certain parcels are selected for each expression (there are five) of Roda’s wines. In their words, “In RODA we look for the parcels that that year have ripened in a red fruit profile, with the expression of the aromas present in the edge of the glass, ready to be felt immediately; with sweet spice notes and a kind freshness. In the mouth the red fruit carries the importance, with a fresh, long, silky, voluptuous and continuous mouth pass.” The vineyards are sustainable, and no chemicals are used.

The vines for the Roda Rioja Reserva 2019 bottling are over 30 years old and bush vines, harvested by hand into small crates. The grapes are sorted on a conveyor belt then fermented in upright French, temperature-controlled oak vats. Malolactic occurs in 225L barriques. The wine then spends 14 months in French oak, 40% new, and then 22 months in bottle until release. The blend for this vintage is 91% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano and 4% Garnacha. The wine has gotten some nice press already.

Luis Gutierrez from Wine Advocate wrote, “The wines are quite transparent of the vintage conditions, with the 2019 Roda being round, lush and velvety, with polished and sleek tannins and more volume and concentration, reflecting a low-yielding, warm and dry year. This is a cuvée with more red than black fruit produced with 91% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano and 4% Garnacha from 30-year-old vines fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in French barriques, 50% of them new, the other 50% second-use for 14 months. It’s a red with 14.5% alcohol, ripe fruit, measured oak and integrated acidity…92 points.”

And from James Suckling, “Fruity and primary with rich black cherries, red plums and damsons, adorned by some coffee, black pepper and chocolate. A pretty, modern, juicy expression of Rioja with a medium to full body, rounded by assertive and fine-grained tannins. Long, with some dark chocolate in the finish. Drink from 2023… 93 points.”

That said, we’ll politely disagree a little. We’ll give the scribes the benefit of the doubt since both notes are nearly a year old. Presumably this wine has developed further in the bottle because what we tasted was pretty sensational. It hits all of the notes that the best Roda efforts have. The fruit is bright, tender and complex, with the dark red fruits they claim they are looking for in full bloom and even leaning a little blue. Black cherry, ripe plum, and even impressions of blackberry, spice notes, vanilla, dark chocolate, it is succinctly balanced and both modern and engaging. This is an expressive, hedonistic, beautiful, refined bottle of Rioja that really rang our proverbial bell from the first whiff.

BEST VERSION OF AN UNDER THE RADAR HOUSE FAVORITE

Yes , we do talk a lot and sell a lot of wine. But there are things we talk about more sparingly simply because they are delicious comfort wines for and we would stock them anyway even thought they are very much under the radar and rarely get attention from the wine media since they don’t make a habit of submitting samples. Still the wines from Bodegas Ramón Ayala Lete e Hijos Viña Santurnia have had a consistent home here at many levels (particularly reserva and gran reserva levels) because they check all of the boxes and do so and extremely attractive prices. They are the kind of wines that wine merchants drink because they are pure, honest, traditional and very well priced.

Located right in the border between Rioja Alta and Alavesa, the Ayala’s family property is in prime real estate. Standing in their property you can see the Barrio de la Estación in Haro, the Tondonia vineyard by the river, and the walls of the Sierra Cantabria in your back. The Ayalas have been involved in the Rioja business for generations. They have two brands: “Viña Santurnia”, for the traditional Rioja aging levels, and “Deóbriga” for wines made with a more modern approach at spectacular prices.

The impetus for this particular piece is the arrival of the Bodegas Ramón Ayala Lete e Hijos Viña Santurnia Rioja Reserva 2016, a classic, traditional Rioja from one of the best vintages in Rioja in recent memory. The grapes come from family vineyards at the foot of the Sierra Cantabria Mountains or Sonsierra. The grapes are harvested manually between the first and third week of October so they are optimally ripe. They are destemmed and moved by gravity into steel tanks for fermentation. The blend, 90% Tempranillo, 5% Manzuelo, and 5% Graciano, are placed in oak barrels, 80% American and 20% French, for the traditional period of 24 months.

This Rioja has a healthy garnet color and the inviting and complex nose of mulberry, cherry, plum, spice, cocoa, a hint of vanilla and a whiff of smoked meat that only bottle age can bring about. In the mouth the wine has the tenderness of time in the bottle and the richness and balance that is the hallmark 2016 Riojas. On other words very engaging, supple, beautifully done ‘old school’ Rioja.

If you need scores and highlights, like we said, we couldn’t find anything recent from the press on Santurnia wines. The best recommendation we can give you is that these wines find their way into our glasses pretty regularly, and this 2016 Reserva is one of the best examples we have had from them. Salud.

OUTSTANDING HIGH-COUNTRY RIBERA DEL DUERO

One of the reasons we do this part of the website is to afford ourselves the opportunity to talk about very exciting things that wouldn’t necessarily play well in our quick hit or email formats, the latter being limited by the number of days in a year. Still, distinctive wines like this deserve a forum.

In truth, we offered one of Yotuel’s bottlings, the 2009 Seleccion, some years ago at the old location. We loved the wine with its deep, polished, chocolate tinged blackberry fruit. Why didn’t it sell? Well there are lots of possible reasons it may not have jumped on the shelf, not the least of which are a difficult name (Gallego Zapatero Yotuel Ribera del Duero) for people to remember or pronounce, and a label that looked kind of like a Rorschach drawing (it is actually supposed to be a stylized grapevine). Anyway, some of it was lost in the shuffle during the move and turned up later in the inventory with a decade of bottle age. It was gorgeous drinking.

Coincidentally, not long after the last delicious bottle of that 2009, the purveyor (the same one we bought it from before) showed up with this top of the line effort from that same Gallego Zapatero Yotuel Finca Valdepalacios from the brilliant 2016 vintage. Needless to say, an equally difficult (maybe more) name from a still relatively unknown source at an upper $40 price didn’t promise the commercial success of MAGA hats. But the juice was stunning, layered and distinctive so we were ‘all in’.

The story of Gallego Zapatero is relatively straightforward and similar to many stories in this part of the world. The vineyards were planted by the grandparents of the current proprietors, brothers Bienvenido and Nacho. The nine plots owned by this family are located in the town of Anguix, in the foothills of Manvirgo Mountain. At 2500 height, these vineyards face temperature shifts of 50 degrees between day and night during the growing season, creating some of the most muscular wines in Ribera del Duero. Grapes are grown organically (certification pending), and the wines are fermented with only ambient yeasts.

The Gallego Zapatero Yotuel Finca Valdepalacios 2016 is 100% Tinto del Pais (the true Ribera clone of Tempranillo) harvested from a single, 1-acre plot of 79-year-old bush vines. The grapes were fermented in 100% new French oak where the juice remained for 14 months. The production was a whopping 1073 bottles and 50 magnums. It is a tribute to this boots-on-the-ground importer that something this special with such tiny production made it here at all.

A wine of great purity boasting layers of spicy blackberry, dark cherry, and cassis, with highlights of spice, chocolate and vanilla highlights from the sojourn in oak, and a seductive, velvety layer of fruit nicely overlaying ripe tannins. Given our experience with the Seleccion from years ago, we’re pretty confident this will be a star in the cellar. But it’s a seriously compelling mouthful already.

TORRES GRAN CORONAS CABERNET 2017

Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better in the wine world, but that does not mean they should be ignored. Take the Torres label in Spain. They make a lot of wine, and a good bit of it is solid, but rarely much beyond that. They do however make the Gran Coronas Mas la Plana Cabernet which is consistently a serious bottle of red wine, and do occasionally hit home with one of their regular bottlings. We had no expectations from this out-of-towner, Pinedes-centric producer with respect to a Rioja Crianza that we had not seen previously, but the Torres Rioja Crianza Altos Ibéricos 2017 is one of those exceptions.

We’ll be the first to admit that if we saw this wine on someone’s shelf, we likely wouldn’t have given it much thought other than acknowledging it existed. That would not have been fair to the tasty juice in the bottle. Darker fruit and a riper style than typical Riojas in this price range, it gives you a good blast of cassis and black plum fruit with accents of spice, vanilla and damp earth. Soft and easy going, it’s a great pop-and-serve red wine choice given its demeanor and very modest price ($12.98) and a considerably more interesting drink than you will typically find in a red in this kind of price range including, most ‘value’ Cabernets.

James Suckling seemed to take a liking to it as well writing, “Dark cherry, plum, cedar and tobacco on the nose. Full-bodied with chewy tannins. Nicely structured with lively acidity that provides freshness. Chalky and soft texture with a flavorful finish. Drink or hold…92 points.”

Like we said, bigger isn’t necessarily better in wine as a rule. But when they do hit one, those ‘economies of scale’ and established distribution systems can get things on the shelf for surprising prices. A great buy most folks probably wouldn’t give a second look.

NEW NAVARRA NOTABLES

There are things going on all over Spain, and Navarra is no different. It is a historic area that lives in the considerable shadow of Rioja to the southwest. This, however, is a new project by two environmental biologists and former winemaking hobbyists of Basque decent deciding to ‘go pro’ with the intent of focusing on Navarra’s widest planted varietal, Grenache. There’s a bit of a twist as they are looking for old plantings with more historic genetic materials. If those sites contain other ancient indigenous varietals, that’s okay, too.

They have assigned themselves a rather formidable task. They want to establish a new identity for Navarra based on scrutinizing and developing unique sites and allowing them to express themselves. They seem to have caught on in Spain and bottles of their wines started showing up in Michelin-starred restaurants across the country. The key to their work is biodiversity. They are working on high elevation sites with predominantly old vines in places were aromatic plants like rosemary, thyme and lavender naturally sprout up between the rows. Kind of sounds like Provence.

The name of the project, Aseginolaza & Leunda, will be a bit of a stumbling block for some folks, as will the general lack of familiarity regarding what Navarra is really all about. But that won’t be a major problem just yet since there is very little wine at present. The national importer says that only 1000 bottles came into the country among seven different bottlings. So you won’t need to clear away a lot of space in the cellar, but you should get to know this promising startup early on.

The Aseginolaza & Leunda Navarra Kauten 2020 is 100% Garnacha harvested in small bins and fermented with 25% whole clusters (the rest is destemmed) via native yeasts. It spends three months in neutral barrels before being bottled unfiltered with a minimum of SO2. As is the character of Navarra Grenache, the flavors center on cool edged, urgent red fruits.

From Luis Gutierrez at robertparker.com, “The very young and primary 2020 Kauten, produced with fruit from their younger vineyards, is fruit-driven and a little heady, with good ripeness and 14% alcohol, which provided pungent flavors and abundant fine-grained tannins. The oak is neatly integrated and the wine has very good general balance. It’s elegant and powerful with good ripeness, 14% alcohol, very good freshness (pH 3.17 and seven grams of acidity) and integrated oak after six months in barrel. 1,200 bottles were filled in July 2021…92 p0ints.”

As to the Aseginolaza & Leunda Navarra Matsanko 2020, the soil is composed
by a a succession of shales and siltstones, with insertions of coarse-grained sandstones. The wine sees five months in older barrels and then is bottled unfiltered after natural clarification. Luis Gutierrez takes care of the rest of the technicals in his piece.

From Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com, “I was quite surprised by the complexity and nuance of the 2020 Matsanko, despite being very young. It fermented with full clusters and semi-carbonic maceration and matured in barrel for five months. It’s a blend of old-vine Garnacha (75%), Tempranillo (15%) and Viura (10%). It’s elegant, serious and somehow austere, with good ripeness (14.5% alcohol) and concentration, abundant fine-grained tannins and good depth. 1,239 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2021…Aseginolaza & Leunda is one of the new names from Navarra worth following…92+ points!”

An intriguing new source to check out, quantities are limited.

AN IMPORTANT NEW FACE IN RIOJA

Even though Spain is a country of history and tradition, there are a number of things happening that question the established order of thing and, in some cases, boldly go where few have travelled. In Rioja, arguably the most traditional wine region in Spain, there is a lot of new thinking, some of which is generational. In some cases, this new thinking involves going back to the ‘old ways’ in the vineyard. The path of young, influential winemaker Arturo de Miguel Blanco is a fine example of that.

Arturo’s family has grape vines, and a strong belief in their land. Their ‘vision’ is to focus on specific terroirs and ‘return the power to the growers’. Arturo has converted all of their vineyards to organic farming and has purchased an additional 3.2 hectares in the villager of Samaniego and Villabuena de la Sonsierra, bringing their total holdings to 28.9 hectares of principally 30-40 year-old vines, mostly Tempranillo with some Garnarcha and Viura. Their ‘terroirs’ are primarily calcerous sandstone (somewhat similar to Barbera and Barbaresco).

As we have discussed on a couple of occasions, there is a trend among producers to eschew the standard classifications of Rioja of Reserva, Grand Reserva, etc. The thinking is that the standard Rioja designations are about the ‘process’, and strictly define what course a producer must follow to use the designation on the label. It involves rules on time in barrel and time in bottle, but has no requirements or regard for the sourcing.

In our minds there is nothing inherently wrong with that system. But we also understand the thinking of the new wave of vintners. They are more interested in recognizing villages and individual estates for their terroirs and being free to make the wines however they see fit for their vineyards without regard to structured rules about barrel time and bottling. There are some pretty loud voices supporting that stance, among them the likes of Telmo Rodriguez and Juan-Carlos López de Lacalle of Artadi. Arturo di Miguel is in that camp.

As we were presented these wines for the first time, the focus of the information seemed to be centered on the two site-specific bottlings, Paso de las Manas and Finca de los Locos. They were just fine but that day the show was stolen by the Artuke Rioja Pies Negros 2019, a remarkably expressive, engaging, high quality effort at a surprising price given the quality. Pies Negros is Spanish for ‘black feet’, a reference to the foot-trodding that is part of this wine’s upbringing.

The source here are high altitude vineyards tucked just below the Sierra Cantabria Mountains in Rioja Alta village of Abalos at about 1900-foot elevation. The blend here is 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano that are de-stemmed and, yes, foot-trodden. Maceration in stainless steel is followed by a 12-14 month sojourn in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels, second and third fill.

Visually this is rather dark in color as Riojas go. The nose showcases deep, dark, very pure cherry fruit that hits with almost laser-like precision. Plush, layered, polished, this wine looks and tastes like something costing twice the price and possesses a depth and freshness that is kind of uncommon for the genre. The purveyor’s ‘pitch’ was ‘serious wine at a not so serious price,’ which in this case is entirely accurate.

We taste a lot of Spanish wines and it isn’t easy to surprise us, but the Pies Negros had a unique personality and a very engaging demeanor that took us a little off-guard. How could something this compelling only cost twenty bucks!? Even within the context of Spanish value, this one is a notch above.

Curiously, with regard to press, the Wine Advocate has followed the winery and said very nice things about the 2017 Pies Negros (92 points), the 2018 (93 points), and the 2020 (92+ points). But Luis Gutierrez did not taste the 2019s, (other than the already bottled entry level which got 90 points) because they were not yet bottled. Too bad since 2019, considered outstanding by the Riojanos, is by far the best vintage of the group. It would likely score higher. Guess it’s still under the radar which is fine by us. A serious new name in Rioja.

MORE THAN JUST TXAKOLI

Not many folks around these parts even knew what Txakoli, the crisp white from the Basque country of Spain, even was a quarter century ago. But it has become something serious wine stores now need to have on hand. Most Txakolis are pretty utilitarian, crisp, lively, often a little fizzy foils for a wide variety of lighter finger foods or dishes that call for a white with some verve. Most of the time it is about the genre itself, rather than the ‘brand’.

While it isn’t quite ‘any Txakoli will do’, the stylistic range is fairly narrow. While we occasionally find one that stands out in a crowd (like the Hiruzta 2020 we sold a while back), usually its more about function in this arena. In that vein, the Txomin Etxaniz Blanco Txakolí de Getaria has been a staple for a couple of decades. Exemplary of the region, consistent year in and year out, we have always considered them a best of breed kind of choice to build around.

The other day a supplier rolled through here with a variety of samples from his Spanish book, and the Txomin Etxaniz Blanco Txakolí de Getaria 2020 was among the things in the bag. We already had the wine on the shelf and recall liking it a lot the first time around. But it had been some time since we had tried it. Honestly, we had forgotten just how good this was! It’s a wine that possesses plenty of the characteristics that one expects of a Txakoli. But it also has palate volume and fruit, something that is pretty rare in anything but the very best examples of the breed.

Txakolis these days do get some attention from the media because Spanish whites have become more topical, and usually the polite 89 or 90 point score. But this version of Txomin Etxaniz got dueling 92s from Decanter Magazine and Vinous. The Decanter review from nearly a year ago will give you a feel, “Made in the classic style, this blend of the two main Txakoli grapes – 85% Hondarrabi Zuri, 15% Hondarrabi Beltza – is fresh and lean with a spiky acidity punctuated by green apples, lime and a fizz of sherbet lemons. There’s a delightful tingle of petillance which sets it off nicely and introduces a slight mineral note on the finish. It cries out for oysters…92 points.”

We’d update that to say that the fizz factor is less these days, but the fruit component in gentler, more ample, and delicious. We picked up a little quince and maybe a tinge of ginger in the mix. We don’t have a Txakoli vintage chart handy but we have now had two epic, very memorable examples from the 2020 vintage. It’s not only exceptional Txakoli, it’s good enough to be considered outside its category just as a delicious, versatile white wine. As for the ‘oysters’ part, that’s still true.

AMAZING RED FOR UNDER $20? ESPAÑA, POR SUPESTO

We wrote a longer piece as an email a while ago, but for a variety of reasons we haven’t ‘pulled the trigger’ as yet. This is not to say that we won’t send an email in the future, but given the uncertain supply lines these days, we don’t want this to disappear before we’ve had a chance to mention it because, in its way, its special.

We know that, while we have been ambassadors for Spanish wines going way back, there are still folks that haven’t ridden the Spanish train yet. For those folks, a little background. La Rioja Alta has been around since 1890. They have had a long time to figure things out. There’s always a fear the old companies will lose their edge over time but, according to an article in the Wine Advocate, they invested some “nine million Euros in improving their vineyards and winery, including an optical sorting table” not long ago. Nobody is resting on their laurels at this address.

The easiest part of the equation is the production itself. Rioja is produced in a warm, sunny place with cool nights (ideal for wine grapes in preserving balancing acidity) and is released with bottle age at a fraction of what equivalent quality reds (without any bottle age) from elsewhere sell for. As more and more folks figure that out, there will be continually less Rioja to go around.

Here we have the La Rioja Alta Rioja Vina Alberdi 2016, a 5- year-old red from 40-year-old estate vines planted in chalk and clay soils. By definition it is given two years of bottle age in American oak barrels that is coopered right there on the estate. The price point is around $20. Unbelievable? In most places, yes. In Spain, at La Rioja Alta, it is the way of things.

This 100% Tempranillo did not come as a surprise to us because we are quite familiar with their work. These guys have been doing this for a long time. We reported some four years ago that, even among an enormously successful run of wines here, their 2010 Alberdi did seem to have another gear and surpassed anything we’ve tasted prior. We feel the same way about the 2016.

We have stated our thoughts on 2016. It is a fantastic vintage is the southern Rhone, Piedmont, Tuscany, Bordeaux, and, yes, Spain. The balance of fruit, tannin and acidity is extraordinary, the wine appearing almost seamless front to back. There is both power and finesse to the fruit cores of the 2016s from Rioja.

The La Rioja Alta Rioja Reserva Vina Alberdi 2016 is rich, dark, sleek, and long. This bottling, as we have said, has typically one of the most dependable in this price range from anywhere. But, like the 2010, this particular effort is special, and in fact may be better by virtue of its fleshier mid-palate and concentrated fruit than that memorable 2010. It is also remarkably versatile with food.

We’d point out that this wine is usually tasted in the context of its higher level siblings. We first had this one at an event showcasing the entire La Rioja Alta portfolio including some flashy library bottlings. Even in that disadvantageous environment, this wine made a big impression on our us. That was reconfirmed at a more recent sampling. Simply, this can be a core piece of anyone’s wine matrix. It has been a consistent part of mine over the last few months.

Apparently Vinous’ Josh Reynolds, who gave this one as high a mark as he has given any Vina Alberdi, is on board. He said this, “Glistening ruby-red. Spice-tinged red fruit and floral aromas pick up hints of coconut and succulent herbs with air. Silky and expressive on the palate, offering appealingly sweet cherry and raspberry flavors and a spicecake nuance that builds steadily in the glass. Closes long and smooth, with repeating florality and subtle tannins that come in late…92 points.”

The complex fruit, elegance, lift and refined tannins make for a marvelous drink. The remarkable food versatility is a bonus. We’ve often said amongst ourselves when tasting wines like this, given all of the other reasons we have mentioned…quality…price…bottle age, “Why doesn’t everyone drink Spanish wines?” A no-brainer while it lasts.

RIOJA RESERVA STEAL LOST IN PLAIN SIGHT?

Let’s say you are in one of the strongest Spanish wine portfolios in all the land, yet some of your stablemates are among the most iconic labels (Muga, Sierra Cantabria, and Senorio de San Vincente). What does that mean for your bodega? Well, the way we see it, you are definitely in a group that will be appreciated by fans of Spanish wines, but you will likely not be the first name on everyone’s request list. The press for the most part won’t be paying as much attention to you either. Our question here is, if you are Ramirez de la Piscina and you have been consistently upping your game, have people noticed?

We have known about this winery and consistently carried their wines for a couple of decades. We have noted over the last few releases that these very traditional Riojas have shown seemingly more flash and fruit than we recall. When we had a bottle, it definitely satisfied. That said, we’ve definitely noticed a step up in quality and flair from a winery that had always delivered. This 2016 Ramirez de la Piscina Rioja Reserva is the best effort we have had from them yet. Very traditional yet with layers of outgoing fruit rolling down the midpalate, there’s simply more of everything here.

There is no lack of history with this estate. In early 1945, Julio Ramírez de la Piscina, followed the tradition inherited from his parents in Ábalos, and continued cultivating the family vineyards in San Vicente de la Sonsierra and began producing traditional Rioja wines. In 1973, Bodegas Ramírez was officially founded and began to sell bottled wine under this name. In 1980, the fourth generation of the Ramírez de la Piscina family took over management of the winery, and in 1987, the name was changed to Bodegas Ramírez de la Piscina. The name change honors the family’s historic surname, which is an ancient aristocratic Medieval Riojan name, originating from a 12th Century Romanesque church nearby the vineyards called Santa María de la Piscina.

All of the vineyards are estate owned and the vast majority of the plantings are Tempranillo on high-density trellis. The oldest Tempranillo vineyards are head-trained, and the family owns a few small plants of Garnacha, Viura, and Malvasia, that are used for the Rosado and Blanco. Ramirez de la Piscina champions the tradition of aging classified, traditional styled Rioja, but as time has passed they seem to be packing more fruit into their wines. This 2016 Ramirez de la Piscina Reserva is very traditional in its spice, leather and mineral nuance to the dark red and black fruit core. The difference here is it seems they came along and laid an extra layer of fruit across the top.

Others seem to agree. James Suckling said, “This shows tightness and balance with energy. Black fruit with mushroom and earth. Some cocoa, too. It’s medium-bodied with firm tannins and a fresh, linear finish. Drink or hold…92 points.”

Josh Raynolds of Vinous was also enthused, “Bright violet. Mineral-tinged red and blue fruit preserve and floral scents are complemented by hints of vanilla, tobacco and licorice. Sappy, expansive black raspberry and blueberry flavors smoothly blend weight and energy and pick up an allspice nuance on the back half. Closes long and appealingly sweet, with round, even tannins and an echo of sappy blue fruit…92 points.”

We feel like these folks have upped their game and want to make sure people notice. It’s tough when your distribution scenario, while one of the best and most dedicated for Spanish wines, includes some of the top names in the category. This 2016 is fruit-driven, delicious, one of my current ‘take-home’ favs and very well priced ($19.98) for a classy reserva (that outperforms a lot of gran reservas) from a great vintage.

97 POINT TXAKOLI? WHY NOT?

Yeah, we know. The first question most people will ask is how does a Txakoli get that kind of review? There are many ways to approach the question, but the easiest one is talking about relativity. Some reviewers approach tasting with the idea of making comparisons within the genre, whereas others look at a broader, though not necessarily more correct one. Clearly perspective is necessary. You aren’t comparing a Spanish Txakoli to Haut Brion Blanc, you are comparing it to other Txakolis. If it’s head of the class, so be it.

Perhaps more to the point, the goal of tasting is to find the best options out there without having some kind of agenda. That being the case, then the ‘score’ here is justified because this is arguably the best Txakoli we’ve ever had. Most Txakolis are crisp, clean, and slightly fizzy, something to wash down food like a Basque version of Portugal’s Vinho Verde. But what’s wrong with aspiring to more? That seems to be the case with Hiruzta Txakolina 2020, be it by virtue of this estate’s efforts or a unique set of circumstances in the 2020 vintage. It’s probably some of both.

In their own words, “Hiruzta is a Txakoli wine that combines classicism and modernity. It is made from the Hondarrabi Zuri grape, grown in the winery’s own vineyards in Hondarribia and fermented at its state-of-the-art facility in Getariako Txakolina.” The winery’s 17-hectare vineyard surrounds the winery itself, at the foothills of Jaizkibel Mountain. It is oriented towards the mid-day sun which protects it from the wind and damp of the nearby Cantabrian Sea. It’s about sunshine mediated by the sea, and 2020 was a particularly dry vintage that allowed the grapes get fully ripe.

Yes, you have the proper acidity, and that expected little kick of fizz. It would serve you fine in some pintxos bar crawl. But there’s so much more. This one also has fruit, weight, and character which sets it apart from most Txakolis out there. Hiruzta harvests by hand in small crates, destems, and crushes via a soft pressing. The juice is then stored at a low temperature to retain some of the natural carbonation. In the winery’s notes, they speak of 2020 as a very successful vintage. This 2020 is balanced and fresh as it should be. Yet there is texture to the pear, apple, tropical and citrus fruit. It is Txakoli in every sense of the word, but a more complete wine in many ways.

Decanter Magazine found a lot to like here, “Bright lemon peel and grapefruit aromas with some underlying tropical fruits. Light prickle on the palate with mid-palate weight and texture; deftly poised with palate-whetting acidity. Long, zesty, elegant, crunchy and fine-boned, this has delightful charm. Shellfish anyone?… 97 Points.”

Yes, that 97 point score will raise an eyebrow or two. But it’s about excelling in the Txakoli category, not as a direct comparison to some boutique, limited release Chardonnay. Hiruzta Txakolina 2020 deserves the recognition because it’s…really…good… Txakoli. It rises above the category, and will stylistically appeal to a broader audience because it is a more complete wine, yet still costs under $20 ($17.98).