Kaiaren 2016 2016

Kaiaren comes from K5 Argiñano in Getaria, on the Basque coast, where the Getariako Txakolina appellation and its native Hondarrabi Zuri grape make some of Spain's most saline whites. Vines here face the Atlantic on cool, humid slopes, and the maritime climate keeps acidity high and the fruit lean and citric. This is an unusually worked example of the style: the wine spends forty eight months on its fine lees in stainless steel, then a further twenty four months in bottle. The long lees contact, with steel preserving freshness, allows spent yeast cells to break down and add a creamy, bready texture and depth to a wine that is normally drunk young and sharp. The colour is pale straw with a green tint. The nose leads with lemon, green apple and sea salt, backed by fresh dough and a white floral note. The palate is bracing and saline, the lees weight softening a taut, briny line that finishes long and mineral. Serve well chilled at 8 to 10 degrees.