Señorio de Astobiza
Txakoli de Alava, Basque Region, Spain
Señorio de Astobiza, located in the Txakoli de Alava D.O. of northwest Spain, is named for a portion of the mountains nearby. Xabier Abando and Ana Martin are the proprietors of this dynamic bodega with an old family history in winemaking. Xabier’s memories of his father making wine and growing up in the vineyards in the 1950’s, carried him past his father’s death when he was only 15 years old, and gave him the motivation to one day create his own bodega. The winery began to take form in 1996 when he acquired property near the town of Okondo in Jandiola province, and began planting his first 2 hectares of vines. Once his vines produced grapes he found suitable, he built his bodega in 2008 for his first vintage. Now Xabier is making beautiful Txakoli from his organically farmed estate that would have made his father proud.
Astobiza now consists of 10 hectares of estate grown Hondarribi Zuri, Petit Corbu and Gros Manseng vines. The vineyards, nestled between mountains and sea, are at an elevation of 300 meters where the temperate weather carries low risk of frost and damaging humidity from fog. Production in the vineyards varies between 40 to 60 hectoliter per hectare, a quantity that is quite low for the zone.
Our Selections
Astobiza Vermouth Blanco Damajuana No. 3 NV
Astobiza Vermouth is a stunning, semi-sweet, amaro-style white vermouth made in small batches from a base Hondarrabi Zuri wine that is blended with Astobiza’s own gin and local botanicals. After years of trial and error, this vermouth was released for the first time in 2021 and immediately received the top prize in their category for at the World Vermouth Awards.
The Astobiza Vermouth is marked by a remarkably complex aroma that suggests rosemary, thyme, lemon and bitter orange, as well as a hint of absinthe. The palate is bittersweet with excellent acidity and freshness. This is best served on its own, on the rocks, with a slice of orange. 15.5% alcohol.
Astobiza Txakoli de Alava Rosado 2023
The Astobiza Txakoli Rosado comes from the upper reach of the Alava zone at about 650 feet above sea level. Nestled within the rolling hills of the Basque country, the local varietals are adapted to the continental climate with a heavy Atlantic influence. This rosé is made up of two local grapes called Hondarrabi Beltza (black), and Hondarrabi Zuri (white), which were hand harvested and brought into the cellar in small crates. The red grapes only spent a day or so on the skins to give the beautiful pink color to the wine, and after fermentation with the white grapes, the expression of fruit and terroir really comes out in the bottle. The finished wine has a lovely floral nose of strawberries and white flowers that are followed by a clean and dry palate offering persistence and beautifully fresh acidity. There is a balanced and pure minerality from the soil, and a long finish that makes this an insanely gulpable bottle of Rosado.