SPWREZ01
£16.95
The Basque country is to classic Spain as chalk is to cheese. The lettering is different, and the names make you wonder if you've suddenly and accidentally wandered into Greece. Like many parts of Spain, vineyards in the Basque Country have been tended since Ancient Roman times. The region is bounded by the Bay of Biscay to the north and to match the resulting cuisine, the wines are piercingly acidic and refreshing.
Rezebal have 20 hectares of high-trained vines on the green, humid coastal outskirts of Zarautz in the small Chacolí de Guetaria DO. The Rezabals (Mireya and Anders) were folk singers in their youth, but their family history lay in wine and in 1996 they decided that wine was where their future lay too. They now have some 20 hectares of high trained vines on the green, humid coastal outskirts of Zarautz in the small DO of Txacolí Getariako, about halfway between the important Basque towns of Bilbao (Bilbo) and San Sebastián (Donostia).
Their entry wine is pure Hondarrabi Zuri, the most important indigenous grape of the region, with an exuberant lemony punch, a refreshing buoyancy and the hallmark, bracing acidity found nowhere else in the peninsula and just 11% alcohol. This is classic, coastal Txacolí with just the rightamount of spritz, typical of the style.
£18.95
Ripasso wines benefit from extra structure and fruit delivered by using the skins of sun dried grapes. This wine is bursting with cherries on the nose, has great depth of flavour, silky smooth fruit and a long, rich velvety finish.
£20.30
An elegant, well rounded wine with soft juicy tannins, the nose offers sweet spices, cassis and ripe berries, sugared orange peel, rooibos and a smoky charcuterie character which follows through onto the palate, with a long and lingering aftertaste.
£20.30
A medium bodied wine with a savoury nose and slight cedar characters. Ripe, yet soft tannins complement the aromas of plump dark, red fruit and ripe strawberries with a hint of dark chocolate and cocoa on the nose.
£17.55
Ruby red colour. A clean nose with notes of balsamic and fine nuances of plum and clean oak. Intense spice and oak on layers of velvety cherry fruit and a slight hint of licquorice. Lasting rich fruit flavours with smooth round tannins. Complex and structured. A pleasant finish with red fruits and hints of eucalyptus.