Located in Goierri, a mountainous region inland in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Bengoetxe takes its name from the family home (caserío), whose origins go back to the 15th century. Iñaki Etxeberria manages this small winery, operating from the caserío’s old stables, and the four hectares of vineyards planted around the property.
The decision to make wine was taken after his father-in-law, owner of the caserío, decided to quit raising cows in the farm in Olaberria. At first they were unsure whether to plant fruit trees, but in the end they planted organic vines. Plants were brought from the French Basque Country —mostly Hondarrabi Zuri, plus some Hondarrabi Zuri Zerratie (Petit Courbu) and some 500 Gros Manseng plants.
The early days weren’t easy; the Getaria Denomination of Origin only covered a few coastal villages which translated in a lot of red tape problems for Bengoetxe, to the point that the regional authorities demanded they pull their plants. For years, Iñaki and his family struggled and had to make do with selling table wines but finally, after demonstrating that vineyards had been part of the landscape in Olaberria over 100 years ago, Bengoetxe joined the DO Getaria in 2008.
Olaberria has clay soils over a layer of slate, high rainfall and temperatures slightly above those on the coast, where most of the DO Getaria producers are based. The Bengoetxe vineyards are all trellised and planted on south-facing slopes with good aeration so they ripen well and always gain one degree more than the coastal vines, says Etxeberria.
Since the beginnings, Etxeberria was adamant that he wanted to make a “different white wine, with no chemicals” so he uses low amounts of sulphur and applies copper and Bordeaux mixture only when strictly necessary. He picks the grapes mechanically with a small, second-hand harvester he bought in Cognac and finishes the harvest in four days. “Others would rather buy a Harley-Davison, but I’m delighted with my harvester; it can be difficult to find pickers”, says Etxeberria, who worked at the local bus factory for 20 years.
Total production stands at 20,000-25,000 bottles, with vintage variations. He makes two wines which stand out from the many light, fruity and carbonated txakolis that are standard in the appellation.
Bengoetxe (18,000 bottles, €9) is mostly Hondarrabi Zuri (90%) plus a little bit of Gros Manseng. It is fermented with its own yeasts in small stainless steel tanks and is later bottled on demand and after a light filtration. Bengoetxe Berezia (4,000 botellas, 12 €) is only made in good vintage and is kept on its fine lees for 12 months before bottling. Almonds and citrus notes aromas precede a textured and fuller palate than other txakolis in wine that shows a really good evolution on the bottle. Its gold colour and the absence of the typical carbonic fizz is a problem for the DO Getaria. “They say it lacks typicity so I’m not sure whether we will pass this year’s organoleptic qualification”, explains Etxeberria. If that’s the case, Bengoetxe would be forced to leave the appellation and remove the word txakoli from its wine labels, which are mostly sold abroad.
The 2017 vintage, as well as being one of the earliest on record, was marked by the hail that fell on June 27 and damaged a great deal of the vines, and by the mildew that followed given the high temperatures and humidity recorded in Olaberria. Under these circumstances, Bengoetxe Berezia was not be made in 2017 whereas production of the entry level Bengoetxe was limited to 9,000 litres.
