Izar-Leku Espumoso 2020
Mahastiak, País Vasco, Viñedos Lacalle y Laorden (Artadi), 750 ml
| Grape variety: | Hondarribi Zuri, Hondarribi Beltza |
| Producer: | Viñedos Lacalle y Laorden |
| Origin: | Spain / País Vasco |
Description
Basque breeze
This sparkling wine is mainly made from the Hondarrabi Zuri grape, which originates from the Spanish Basque region. With an acidity that makes it crack, it brings the perfect kick to this Espumoso. A drop that melts on the tongue like a fresh sea breeze and lets you literally feel the salty freshness of the Atlantic.
Super-straight and refreshing, it has fine flavours of lime, lemon zest and herbs, underlined by a salty note. The subtle fullness that comes from the two-and-a-half-year bottle fermentation gives it a fascinating depth.
This Espumoso harmonises perfectly with everything the sea has to offer.
Attributes
| Origin: | Spain / País Vasco |
| Grape variety: | Hondarribi Zuri, Hondarribi Beltza |
| Label: | Certified organic or biodynamic wine |
| Ripening potential: | 1 to 6 years |
| Drinking temperature: | 6 to 8 °C |
| Food Pairing: | Mussels au gratin, Giant crevettes, grilled langoustines, Oysters |
| Vinification: | bottle fermentation, soft pressing, fermentation in steel tank, fermentation in wooden barrel |
| Harvest: | hand-picking |
| Maturation: | on the yeast |
| Maturation duration: | 30 months |
| Volume: | 12.5 % |
| Note: | Contains sulphites |
Viñedos Lacalle y Laorden
In 2015 the two families of Zapiain and Lopez de Lacalle launched the Izar-Leku Mahastiak project (today Grupo Artadi) in Zarautz/Basque Country, with the aim of producing a table wine as well as a sparkling wine with Txakoli as the base wine. Today this sparkling wine is part of the "Viñedos Lacalle y Laorden" company - just like the premium single-vineyard wine "Viña El Pisón", though this wine comes from the Álava/Rioja region.
Txakoli is a traditional white wine from Spain's Basque Country, made from the native grape varieties of Hondarribi Zuri (white grape, proportion approx. 90%) and Hondarribi Beltza (red grape, proportion approx. 10%), which has developed from a wine that was traditionally enjoyed in local taverns or at home in the family circle into a wine with its own "DO" and strong reputation.
Spain
Spain – Variety and perfection
“Somewhere in la Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember...,” begins Don Quixote's odyssey.
The most famous part is definitely when Don Quixote thinks windmills are his enemy and wants to fight them – until they nearly kill him. It’s possible there was a bit too much of the La Mancha wine at play. Spanish vines fight for their survival in rugged landscapes, battling fierce drought and rough soils. But they fight well.
