Itsasmendi Txakoli (Cha-ko-lee) 2019 

Sale $16.99

90 pts Wine Advocate

Txakoli is a rare bird… in Spain, it is virtually unknown outside of the Basque region from which it comes. And hardly anything is exported anywhere… except to America. And thanks to a pioneering importer who largely developed and therefore cornered the market, almost all of it is fizzy.

Which is kind of a shame. Don’t get me wrong, I like the fizzy stuff too. It’s clean, crisp and the effervescence makes it fun and a great food wine.

But it’s not the only Txakoli out there. And I, along with just about every reputable critic, would argue it is not the best Txakoli produced either. Fun? Yes. Serious? No. Again, that’s ok… but the fizzy style has effectively blocked the market for maybe half of the Txakoli being made.

Heck, just about every reference to Txakoli on the web defines it as being fizzy. And yet, if you didn’t hit up the touristy pintxo bars of San Sebastian and ventured to the edgy restaurants of Bilbao, you may not even see a bottle of the fizzy stuff.

So while I hate to start a wine pitch by telling you what a wine isn’t, I feel it was warranted here.

This is most decidedly NOT fizzy. It’s delicious… and ridiculously good with oysters, razor clams and any fresh seafood known to man. And fun. And tasty. Just not fizzy. Lemon drops and grapefruit… citrus and floral… super vibrant acidity and low-ish alcohol (12.7%). And it doesn’t need to be drunk in the next six weeks… it will drink well for another 2-3 years. Kind of serious and all…

“Itsasmendi was created by a group of friends, many of which work or have worked in the winery that functions like a small cooperative. They have a total of 37.5 hectares of vineyards in different villages in the Bizakiako Txakolina appellation, mostly local grapes but also some Riesling that has been there for 30 years now. The diversity of vineyards means they have three different weeks of ripening/picking, which is used as a guide for the style of wines. Their eponymous 2019 Itsasmendi is a blend of approximately equal quantities of Hondarrabi Zuri (Gros Corbu) and Hondarrabi Zuri Zerratia (Petit Corbu) with 12.7% alcohol, a low pH and notable acidity, from a vintage they consider very good, up there with 2015. The vines were planted from 1990 on different soils, fermented separately (there might be up to three weeks difference in ripening), and some lots matured with the lees for a short time. It is citrusy and floral. The palate is solid, seamless, balanced and tasty, with a notable salty finish.” WA


Or reply. The wine is available now in Chapel Hill. Friday, as ordered, in Hillsborough.