Doniene - Txakoli, Bizkaiko Txakolina, Spain (2023)

The winery is in the coastal town of Bakio, a locality considered as the birthplace of txakolina wine in Basque Country. Its ideal location on the shores of the Bay of Biscay, protected by west-facing hill-sides, has given the grapes from these vineyards a pronounced personality throughout the years.

Andoni, Egoitz, Itziar and Julen are the winery owners. They found abandoned vineyards in Bakio and immersed themselves in recovering the local grapes and wines. 

Doniene is 100% hondarrabi zuri aged on the lees, well structured, and lacking any residual CO2; it demonstrates that the region can make wines that belong in gastronomic settings and don’t need to be consumed early. The grapes are sourced from some of their oldest white vineyards with significant clay content in the soils, perched at 250m high above the Bay of Biscay, surrounded by pine forests. Bakio has a mild climate, as the narrow valley traps the sea breeze, which makes for warmer winters and cooler summers.

After a manual harvest, the grapes are destemmed and given a brief cold soak. Only the free-run juice is used, and each parcel is vinified separately using only native yeasts. The wine then rests on its lees until bottling the following March. Very little sulphites are used in the vinification process, with less than 15ppm total.