Astobiza Txakolí 2024

Astobiza is a Basque winery in the Ayala Valley of Alava, set beside the Mahastondo stream and part of a new generation of growers who have reshaped Txakoli's reputation. The wine is made from the native Hondarrabi Zuri grape and farmed sustainably. This is a cool, damp, Atlantic-influenced corner of the Basque Country, and that maritime climate is the key to the style: it keeps yields fresh and acidity high, producing a light-bodied, low-alcohol white with a taut, coastal character. Fermentation in stainless steel preserves the primary fruit and the grape's natural bright acidity, with no oak to soften it. The colour is a brilliant straw-yellow with green highlights. The nose is intense for so light a wine, with lemon and green apple over white flowers and a clear saline, sea-spray note. The palate is crisp, dry and vibrant, sometimes with a faint prickle, the acidity driving a clean, briny finish. Serve very cold at 7 to 9 degrees, poured with some height as is traditional. It is made for shellfish and fresh Atlantic fish.