Itsas Mendi - Bat Berri, Txakoli, Bizkaiko Txakolina, Spain (2021)

TASTING NOTES

Mandarin orange, chamomile, and stone fruits (peach), with notes of dry herbs, fresh straw, and orange rind.  Crisp on the palate, with pleasing notes of tannin and bitterness. 

Bat Berri, means “new one” in the Basque language.

The wine is made from 100% Hondarrabi-zuri grapes, from a single plot in Gernika, at sea level. The grapes are picked at second maturity, when the potential alcohol is lower but the aromatic qualities are higher.

100% whole-bunch (with stalks) Carbonic maceration (no sulfur added). When fermentation was complete (~15 days), the wine ages in a stainless steel tank, on the lees, for 2 months. The wine was bottled unfiltered and not stabilized. The wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation.

Itsasmendi Txakolina are typical of the Bizkaiko style, which is different than those of DO Getariako (of San Sebastián) which usually have a slight carbonic fizz.