The journey by train from Barcelona to San Sebastian only takes about five hours, but the land traveled is immense.  Just outside Barcelona city limits, you see miles of somewhat flat vineyards whose grapes have a bubbly destiny.  On you go into the dusty desert plains dotted occasionally with ghostly Roman ruins, with the menacing, toothy snarl of the Pyrenees slowly approaching from the distance. In a flash of dark green you plunge into the dark green forests of the western Pyrenees, and the villages grow into towns before you finally arrive in San Sebastian, a city surrounded by beaches.  The feather-light, spritz-y whites of the Bay of Biscay must have been created with parched travelers in mind. Read on for more information…

2007 Trabanco, Poma Aurea, Sidra Natural de Asturias, Asturias, Spain

Wine is and always has been the most popular beverage in Spain. Every region of the nation has its own local grape varietals and traditional wines. But in Asturias, things are a little different. If you travel to this coastal region nestled between Galicia and the Basque Country you won’t find the terraced vineyards that overlook the ocean as you do in the neighboring areas. Instead, you’ll find apple orchards. Here in Asturias the regional wine is cider.  Like most families from the Asturian countryside, the Trabanco family has always made their own cider from their own apples, but in 1925 Emilio Trabanco decided to turn this family hobby into a family business. Trabanco cider quickly became known throughout the region as the premier natural cider from Asturias. The Poma Aurea is the first of these well respected ciders to hit the US shores.  It is made from a mixture of native apple varieties which are simple pressed, naturally fermented in centuries old chestnut barrels before secondary fermentation takes place in bottle and a small dosage using natural apple must completes the wine.  This is possibly the most unique way to experience the culture and flavor of a region.

2009 Uriondo, Bizkaiko Txakolina, Bizkaia, Spain

Founded in 1987 by Roberto Ibarretxe Zorriketa Uriondo is a small family fun winery on the outskirts of Bilbao.  Being on the coast his small plot of vines, totaling around 2.5 hectares, are greatly influenced by the Atlantic to the north as well as the overall altitude of the site, around 250 meters above the sea.  As far as Txakolina, one of our favorite wine styles here at the Bottega, is concerned the sub region of Bizkaia is worlds away from that of Getariako (to the east).  The overall experience may be similar from the wine, i.e. light, slightly salty and with a little spritz but the ancient grape varieties are completely different.  Here we have a blend of native grapes, 70% mune mahatsa and 30% txori mahatsa which grow in sandy clay soils (rather than hondarrabi zuri grapes in the Getariako region).   What really matters is that this is a quintessential Basque wine that shows the cool coastal climate and great ability to pair with the regions unique foods.

2009 Ameztoi “Rubentis” Getariako Txakolina, Spain

Ignacio Ameztoi is the seventh generation of his family to carry on the tradition of making wine in the province of Getaria and they are considered one of the flagship producers of the region.  From the scenic vineyards you can see the town of St. Sebastian and understand the strong influence of the Atlantic Ocean on these wines. This unique wine is a blend of 50% Hondaribbi Zuri (a white grape) and 50% Hondaribbi Beltza (a red grape), native grapes to the region. Amazingly enough the vines are over 150 years old!  Tragically, a highway is scheduled to be built right through these vineyards later this year, so snatch this up while you can.  A hint of briny, sea air intermingles with citrus tones, making this a great match for shellfish.

2008 Domaine Ilarria Blanc
2008 Domaine Ilarria Rose
2007 Domaine Ilarria Rouge

Irouleguy, France
Irouleguy is among the smallest appellations in France, and it is certainly one of the most isolated.  Its nearly 200 hectares of working vineyards are interspersed among a handful of villages, most notably St. Jean Pied de Port, which is the gateway of the pilgrimage across the north of Spain that ends in Santiago de la Compostela.  Views from the 17th century citadel perched atop the hill of St. Jean Pied de Port extend well beyond the hillside vineyards toward the countryside of Gascony.  The vast majority of wine produced in Irouleguy is sold through the cooperative, leaving only a handful of stubborn, independent producers.  Nine out of ten bottles of Irouleguy are consumed locally.  The mountain soils are sandy and clayey, with important deposits of iron, giving the wines a fiery red color and demeanor.  Whites are comprised of petit manseng, gros manseng, and courbu, while the reds and roses are usually at least half tannat, with Bordeaux varietals making up the balance.  Domaine Ilarria is one of the top independent producers in the appellation, and perhaps the only one to be certified organic. Winemaker Peio Espil is a firm believer in organic farming, not because it is fashionable nowadays, but because he feels it leads to a stronger natural yeast formation within the vineyard. 

With strong encouragement from The Wine Bottega, this is the first vintage imported by our friend Andrew Bishop of Oz Wine Company.  Only ten cases of each — white, pink, and red — were imported.  These are substantial, ruddy wines that are built to take on the region’s rich bounty of culinary delights, almost all of which would be accompanied by piperade, which is a concoction of various vegetables seasoned by France’s only AOC pepper, Piment D’Espelette.

2007 Jean Gardies “Mas Las Cabes”, Cotes du Roussillon, France

Jean Gardies represents the new guard of quality-minded winemakers in the Roussillon.  The past couple of generations have capitalized on the demand for cheap table wine mostly sold through the nation’s now ubiquitous hypermarches.  Gardies and others have returned to the small-winery tradition, harvesting by hand, managing the vineyards without chemicals, and crafting wines that express the unique elements of these ideally-situated vineyards.  “Mas Las Cabes” is a blend of syrah, grenache, and carignan, half of which has been aged for a short time in barriques, the other half in large cuves.  It owes much to the 2007 vintage, which couldn’t have been better for producing rich, fragrant, well-balanced wines.  This will be great all summer long for barbecues and roof/balcony parties.