Los Hermanos 2011 Txakoli

Spain is the hot new destination for all foodies and of course where food goes wine follows. If you’ve had the good fortune to go to San Sebastian you will be familiar with the Pintxos bars, known elsewhere in Spain as tapas bars. Apart from the wonderful array of small plates that adorn the counters the ritual of pouring the unique local wine known as Txakoli is theatre and entertainment in itself. The barman takes the bottle, raises it high, and looking you straight in the eye, pours into the mouth of a glass held 60cm below. If he’s lucky most of it goes into the tumbler and you get a pour of slightly fizzy, tart, aromatic and refreshing white wine.

During their ‘viage espanol del vino’  Zoe and Rollo first stumbled across this delightfully refreshing drink in 2009 and have continued to enjoy it both in Spain and Australia ever since. Unsurprisingly though this was not enough, and so in the vintage of  2011, their salute to Txakoli (Saludo al Txakoli) was born!

FRUIT:

Traditionally, three varieties have been used for Txakoli - Hondarrabi  Zuri, Hondarrabi Beltza and Petit Manseng – all of which have been chosen for their natural acid retention and vibrant flavor at low alcohol. With the first two varieties as yet unavailable in Australia, we have used Petit Manseng, grown in the King Valley and harvested in mid March.

WINEMAKING:

Research has taught us that cool and clean is the way to go when making Txakoli. After hand harvesting and whole bunch pressing the juice was settled for 48hrs with the help of pectolytic enzyme. The clarified juice was then racked to a temperature controlled stainless steel tank before inoculation with an aromatic yeast for a prolonged, cool ferment. Once dry the wine was immediately sulphured (without malolactic fermentation) and allowed to settle for around 8 weeks before stabilistation and filtration in preparation for bottling.

BOTTLING:

A big part of Txakoli’s charm is its vibrant spritz. We have accurately replicated this character by retaining much of the ferment derived C02 and then accentuating it by further ‘sparging' the wine with the gas just prior to bottling. The wine was bottled in September 2011 and sealed under screwcap.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:

Alc. Vol: 11.5% [low]
Residual sugar: 0.45 g/l [dry]
Ph: 3.15
Total acidity: 8.3g/l  [high]
Dissolved CO2: 2.9g/l [Spritzy]

TASTING NOTES:

More a wine for enjoyment than analysis, our Saludo al Txakoli lives up to its namesake as the perfect salute to a classic Basque white. Its floral nose makes a seamless transition to fruit on the palate while the ever important, ‘spritzy’ acidity brings the mouth to life in preparation for the next tasty Pintxos morsel. The perfect summer drink that demands food – and yes, for maximum drinking pleasure be sure to pour from a height!

CELLARING:

Drink it yesterday!!