Hondarribi Zuri (on-da-rabbi zorry) is the name for the Courbu Blanc grape in the Txakoli (cha-ko-lee) region of the Spanish Basque region in northern Spain. Courbu Blanc is also grown in the French Basque region and Jurançon in southern France. In Jurançon, it is blended with Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng, which are used to produce sweet wines. Hondarribi Zuri is the most planted white grape in Txakoli. These wines are known for their light spritzy character and low alcohol content. The Basque region has a cool climate because of it being just south of the Bay of Biscay. This results in wines with bright acidity and mild salinity. The winds from the Bay of Biscay help reduce the risk of fungal disease. These wines have fresh fruit character and are intended to be drunk young.
This week, I drank a 2021 Hiruzta Hondarrabi Zuri from Txakoli DO. This wine is 100% Hondarrabi Zuri. When I went to uncork this bottle, there was some mold on the top of the cork. This is nothing to be concerned about but indicates it was stored in a place with significant humidity. There is a belief that storing wines in a humid environment will prevent the cork from drying out, which allows it to maintain an effective seal and maintain the wine’s freshness. On a recent visit to Amorim Cork, the world’s largest cork producer, this theory was debunked. According to Amorim Cork, the humidity in the cork only matters during the corking process but will not have an effect after this point. This wine is still young and intended to drink soon, so this all has little impact on this bottle. This wine is a pale lemon color with none of the aforementioned spritzy effects. It has aromas of white grapefruit, bread dough, lemon peel, green apple, and gardenia. On the palate, this dry, high acid and moderate alcohol wine has a fuller body than anticipated. This is due to the time it spent on the fine dead yeast cells, lees. During this aging process, the wine was also stirred which imparted the aromas and flavors of bread dough to the final wine. The grapes for this wine are planted on a south facing slope on the side of Jaizkibel Mountain. This provides for greater sun exposure, which leads to riper fruit aromas and greater sugar accumulation in ripe grapes which results in higher potential alcohol. The same aromas appear on the palate along with wet stone minerality, which linger on a long finish. This wine is refreshing and enjoyable to drink. It would pair well with raw seafood, white fish, and lighter cheeses.
-TheLooseTannin
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