Magalarte Lezama (in the Greater Bilbao region of Bizkaia) is a small family winery under the Bizkaiko Txakolina DO, rooted in the Txorierri Bizkaino area. The owner family has more than 120 years of history making txakoli in Bizkaia. After studying Agricultural Engineering and a degree in Oenology at the University of La Rioja, Andoni Aretxabaleta, fifth generation of the same family saga, today promotes the project established by his father Iñaki. He grew up on the family farm, dedicated to the production of fruit trees, mainly apple trees, and vineyards. In fact, in Basque, magalarte means ‘in the lap’.
The Magalarte Lezama winery was born 20 years ago as a result of the passion and work of a family of farmers. The history of this wine project began with Nicolás Aretxabaleta. It was his son Gabriel Aretxabaleta who decided to use his father’s photograph as a label to bottle his 1964 vintage. The agricultural tradition continued until the third generation. Andoni Aretxabaleta was passionate about txakoli from Bizkaia, the promoter of the name of the Association of Txakolineros de Bizkaia Bialtxa, which later, and with the support of the Basque Government and the Provincial Council, launched the recovery of this wine with the creation from the DO Bizkaiko Txakolina in 1994.
Iñaki Aretxabaleta, fourth generation of the owner family, began making his own wines in Lezama, and has extensive experience in the vineyard and winery. With his son Andoni he is part of the Bizkaia Txakoli tasting committee, a group of tasters in charge of ensuring the quality of the wines protected under this body. Andoni is also a member of the Regulatory Council of the DO Bizkaiko Txakolina and secretary of the Bizkaia Tourism Association, created in 2022.
They work with the emblematic variety of txakoli, hondarrabi zuri, but also with hondarrabi zuri zerratia and with riesling, petit manseng, gros manseng or folle blanche. And they are now studying experimentally planting berdexaire (cabernet franc). They affirm that today they are committed “to innovation and development, achieving a current quality product, maintaining the spirit of the past.” They total 11 hectares of vineyards that are located in the heart of the Txorierri valley, in Lezama. The climate is mesothermal (Atlantic), moderate in terms of temperatures and rainy.
They currently produce between 80,000 and 90,000 bottles annually. They have five references in the market and export 5% of their production. They only have the foreign markets of Japan and Korea. In 2018 they acquired a 1.8 hectare piece of land adjacent to their winery, where they have planted a vineyard with hondarrabi zuri zerratia with organic management without certification, and they want to plant another experimental vineyard with all the varieties authorized in the DO. And at the same time they are going to incorporate into their wine tourism offer a short walk to the new plantations where you can see the vineyard and an old fountain-laundry, which dates back to 1918.
Its star wine, the Ieup! Barrikan (fermented in barrels) is dedicated by Andoni to his father, who began making this white with a certain complexity in 2008 under the name Magalarte Barrikan. It takes its name from an affectionate greeting that is usually given in the Lezama area. Andoni Aretxabaleta explains that ieup “is a greeting that is used in a very friendly way and that is not given to a stranger.”
Whoop! Barrikan is the fruit of Hondarrabi Zuri grapes with a touch of petit manseng. Their vineyard was planted almost three decades ago on south-facing slopes. Its soils are clay loam with loam, with natural springs thanks to water retention. They grow their vines using integrated production, “guaranteeing sustainable and top-quality viticulture.”
Its grapes are harvested by hand and macerated for about 10 hours. They practice a pre-fermentation cryomaceration with dry ice at a very low temperature in order to “perform a strong aromatic extraction.” They also press in an inerted nitrogen atmosphere, with low oxidation. The must undergoes alcoholic fermentation in new French oak barrels with a capacity of 500 liters, and fine grain and medium toast, for 6 months.
They also carry out lees removal work for half a year. In the 2022 vintage, in which they recorded a rainfall of 850 liters per square meter (the average is 1,200 liters), they started the harvest prematurely, on September 6, and were forced to harvest “against the clock” since The maturation came very quickly, as Andoni Aretxabaleta remembers.
The 2022 vintage, of which 2,233 bottles were made, is straw yellow with golden reflections. It is sharp and bright. It stands out for the ripeness of the fruit, a reflection of the dry and warm vintage, and for its marked acidity (7.15 g/l. of total acidity in tartaric). With 13, 65º alcohol. It exhibits notes of stone fruit (peach and nectarine) and also apple with a balsamic touch. It has an interesting mineral background, almost metallic. The aging in wood is very well integrated into the wine. It is a white with aging capacity that is expressed with an unctuous tactile sensation. It is spacious and tasty. It is recommended to serve at a temperature of 12º C.
From the winery they recommend harmonizing it with meats, fish and seafood. Andoni Aretxabaleta especially likes to accompany it with grilled turbot (the acidity of the txakoli pairs very well with fatty fish), with Asian proposals such as sushi or with a good unsmoked Basque Idiazábal DOP or a Comté cheese.
At Magalarte Lezama, a winery surrounded by nature located 10 minutes by car from Bilbao airport, they have also opened up to wine tourism, committing to discover “the secrets of the Txorierri valley.”
They offer everything from walks through the vineyard, even with horses, with explanations about the harvest and its evolution; visits to the winery and explanation of the production steps, from the vineyard to the store, or tasting of their products accompanied by skewers made with local products.
