Gorka Izagirre Zura 2022

Gorka Izagirre farms in the D.O. Bizkaiko Txakolina at Larrabetzu, in the green, rain-swept hills of Bizkaia, part of the family food and wine project linked to the three-Michelin-star Azurmendi restaurant. Zura, whose name means wood in Basque, is a barrel-aged Txakoli from the native Hondarrabi Zuri grape. The Atlantic climate here is cool and wet, and the steep coastal vineyards give a wine built on high acidity, salinity and a mineral edge. Where a standard Txakoli is bottled young and lightly spritzy, Zura is aged in wood, which trades some of that fizz for texture and depth: slow lees contact and gentle oxygen exchange broaden the palate and add a subtle savoury weight while keeping the wine taut. It shows a pale colour and a nose of lemon, green apple and white peach over white flowers and a clear saline, sea-spray note. The palate is dry and racy, the barrel adding body without covering the Atlantic freshness, and the finish is long and briny. Serve well chilled at 9 to 11 degrees.