Bodegas Zudugarai - 'Antxiola' - Hondarribi Zuri - Geteriako Txakolina DOP, ES - 2024

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Light, but not slight, the relatively extended lees contact imbues the wine with unexpected persistence. Whole-cluster pressing and fermentation on ambient yeasts lend it a gratifying depth of flavor. Prepared with the grapes coming from Landarbide Vineyard. This plantation its located inside Pagoeta Natural Park, famous for its huge beech forests and oaks. Prepared with Antxiola Vineyard’s grapes. Visual Phase: Straw yellow with lime green tones. Green reflexes and metallic houses. Nose Phase: Fresh, salty sea aromas. Apple based aroma, that offers white flowers and sweet citrus. Taste Phase: Fresh red fruit mouthfeel, with a balanced citrus finish. Brilliant straw yellow colored, with green shimmer. Apple based aroma, that offers white flowers and sweet citrus. Fresh red fruit mouthfeel with a balanced citrus finish. White fruit retronasal persistence with the Antxiola’s citrus particular hit. Fresh, with salty sea aromas. Intense and full of energy, clean bright coloured, with lime green tones. Fresh and balanced entrance. Light and smooth.

Notes on the Producer

Antxiola (pronounced ahn-cho-la) is a txakoli wine made by Bodegas Zudugarai. The Errasti brothers, Vicente, Jose Maria (JoMari) and Patxi, own Bodegas Zudugarai. The winery was founded in 1989, the same year that the DO of Getariako Txakolina was founded. The Errasti brothers have a long-standing experience in growing grapes and producing Txakoli, which is a young, very dry white wine unique to the Basque Country. Their experience stretches back many years before the Getariako Txakolina Designation of Origin was first created in 1989. Their family has been involved in winemaking for the last 60 years. However, the creation of this Designation of Origin led to the construction of this winery and surrounding vineyards.

The vineyards and winery are located on the Gipuzkoa coast, with the Cantabrian Sea to the north. There are gentle, rolling hills at about 90 meters above sea level. The sunniest and windiest slopes are the ones planted to vines so that the grapes can get ripe and also remain dry and avoid fungal and rot issues. All work in the vineyards is done by hand including harvest. Fermentation takes place naturally in stainless steel tanks over a period of about 20 days. The wine is then bottled while young to retain some of its natural effervescence.

Bodegas Zudugarai is focused on safeguarding txakoli as a unique, traditional, autochthonous product; however, new techniques and formulas are gradually being introduced into the viticultural process in order to improve the characteristics of the txakoli.

The name Antxiola refers to a famous fortified home in the nearby town of Orio that was part of the walls fortifying the town. A rendering of that home is on the label of this wine. Admiral Antxiola was one of the most famous owners and written records of the house date back to 1555.