Spain Dispatch #1: Hay Txakolina!

7/6/2009 -

For 12 days in the first part of June, I had the great fortune to travel with the esteemed importer of Spanish wines Andre Tamers of De Maison Selections.  Again – as I was last year after returning from Sherry country - my head is permanently stuck in Spain-land. Thanks to the extreme hospitality and generosity of the producers, I don't think I had a bad bite anywhere...  I mean anywhere.  In the center, there were copious amounts of grilled suckling lamb; glasses of Ribera del Duero accompanied the finest.  In Alavesa, La Potatas Riojanas was one of the simplest pleasures one could have the chance to enjoy.  There were mind-blowing feasts of seafood in Galicia accompanied by the staples Albarino and the Treixadura based blends from Ribeiro.  In the Basque region I learned what a Txotx was and had the best steak of my life.

In the vineyards, I saw many old vines lovingly maintained; many growers, if not all, work ecologically with no herbicides or pesticides to be found.  True to their terrunyos, real and honest to their roots: farmers.  There seems to be an on-going conversation about quality occurring nearly everywhere.  Most of the producers Andre works with are using wild yeasts, believing that modern temperature controlled fermentations make this possible.  Less oak, less alcohol, and less extraction, at least in red wine regions, were conversations at the table at every twist and turn; some producers exhibited notable disbelief that a less manipulated approach to wine-making would be of interest here in the New York market.  My conclusion, in spite of what many people may think, is that Spain is still emerging.  There is more transparency and elegance that can be expressed and will be.  I tasted examples of this in Priorat, Montsant, and Ribera del Duero, all purportedly "hot" regions.  Counter to current fashion, some of us would like the producers to take a step back, limit their punch downs, pumping-overs, remontage etc; think less about where their new oak comes from and listen to their instincts as to what they would want on their dinner table and what their native varietals in their respective terrunyos have to really offer.  You can have power and finesse.  A wall of tannin from new wood and over-extracted skins is not really in essence... pleasure. 

All and all, I believe the Mencia's of Ribeira Sacra are the next wines to emerge and will set the example for terrunyo expression and transparency in Spain.  These are not blockbuster point score wines, they are honest wines of place. 

I will be sending out dispatches from the trip with pictures, tasting notes, and accompanying offers for many of the wines I consider to be highlights; most are new vintages.  These wines are, in my opinion, on the cutting edge of what's happening in Spain today.  I don't believe there is a group of people that embody this futuristic spirit more than the Basques.  They were the first world travelers from Iberia, the first to industrialize and in turn enjoy one of the highest standards of living in Europe, and they possess one the finest and most forward looking cuisines anywhere. Which brings us to my first dispatch: Txakoli

Txakoli is traditionally made as a white wine with a hint of effervescence.  There are three sub-zones for Txakoli: Getariako, Bizkaiko, and Arabako; all have stylistic differences.  Getarikoa will show the more traditional Txakoli syles of wet stone and citrus with more CO2 presence; Bizkaiko are slightly more full-bodied and sometimes even tropical, and wines from Arabako tend to have less CO2 and have more petrol and smoke from the Tufa soil underneath.  The Basque serve these wines along side their local version of tapas (Pintxos), with a variety of salt cod dishes, or as an aperitif.  These wines are strikingly textured, with bracingly tart citrus and mineral flavors.  The old-timers of the region think: the more tart the better.  These wines, in my mind, are the ultimate summertime picnic wines and are rivaled only by Muscadet in the perfection of their match with shellfish and seafood.   -Chris Barnes