Domaine South
Spanish Wine Tasting
New Releases from Rioja and Basque Country!
Special Guest, Allaina Nielsen
Friday, April 10th, 4 pm - 6pm
$20 per person
256-759-9952 to Reserve
The Wines
2023 Txomin Etxaniz Txakolina, Getariako, Basque Counrty, Spain $21.99
From the southern edge of the rocky Bay of Biscay in northern Spain, this is Basque country wine is refreshing and slightly effervescent. It's a Txakoli wine made from Hondarrabi Zuri grapes. GREAT with seafood.
90 Points Wine Spectator: Floral and spice notes waft through the juicy flavors of red apple, tangerine zest and honeydew melon on display in this sleek white, with a light, pleasing plumpness on the palate. Salty finish. Hondarrabi Zuri and Hondarrabi Beltza. Drink now.
#62 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2024
Made up almost entirely of Hondarrabi Zuri, with the remaining Hondarrabi Beltza, the grapes come from Ametz Mendi and a handful of other historic vineyards within Getaria of Getariako Txakolina DO. The vines were planted from 1915 to 2000 upon beds of sandy, chalky loam. The winery sorts and selects for the healthiest grapes. Following a cold maceration, the grapes are destemmed and pressed in a closed pneumatic press. The fermentation is done by selected indigenous yeast and is maintained at very low temperatures to retain some dissolved CO2. The wine ages for six months in stainless steel sur lie before bottling.
2024 Muga Blanco, Rioja, Spain $21.99
The Muga Blanco shines with its pale, straw-yellow hue, instantly inviting you in for a sip. On the nose, delicate aromas of white blossom and stone fruit mingle with a subtle touch of vanilla, adding just the right amount of complexity. On the palate, its lively acidity is beautifully balanced by a rounded body, offering bright citrus flavors with a hint of salinity that adds depth and length. The finish is refreshingly long, echoing the citrus and stone fruit notes, leaving an elegant and vibrant impression. This versatile white Rioja is a natural pairing for grilled fish, fresh shellfish, and savory rice dishes. It’s equally enjoyable on its own—perfect for sipping as an aperitif or alongside a light snack on a sunny terrace.
Antonio Galloni: 92 Points
The 2024 Blanco Muga combines Viura, Garnacha Blanca and Malavasia from Rioja. The crisp, intense nose is fragrant with tropical nuances of apple and pear. This is dry, with a crisp freshness and creamy texture, combining richness and energy to produce a modern white Rioja. The finish is restrained but fruit-forward.
James Suckling: 92 Points
Attractive nose with a subtle creamy touch to the melon, cantaloupe and nectarines. Crisp and dry, with a medium body and touches of salinity and phenolics at the end. Viura, malvasia and garnacha blanca. An early harvest from this hot vintage, which is crucial to keeping the acidity and liveliness of this wine.
2025 Muga Rosado, Rioja, Spain $18.99
Muga Rosado 2025 is an elegant, fresh, and delicately scented wine that, in a vintage marked by particularly complex weather conditions, achieves a balance between acidity, alcohol content, and aromatic expression. On the nose, it reveals ripe stone fruit, with nuances of peach, citrus hints, and a floral whisper that invites you to draw nearer. On the palate, it is vibrant, with well-integrated acidity that imparts tension and freshness, while the fruit unfolds gently, leaving a persistent finish and that light, joyful sensation that makes each sip a small moment of celebration.
What truly sets Muga apart from other ventures is its reverence for tradition, such as being one of the few Spanish wineries with its own cooperage, where oak wood is crafted in the classic style, just as it was in ancient times. Among its creations, we must highlight the king of rosés: Muga Rosado. A true tribute to the land of La Rioja, crafted from a blend of garnacha and viura varieties, cultivated at an altitude of 480 metres, in clay-limestone soils with a perfect climate that combines Atlantic, continental, and Mediterranean influences.
In the production process of Muga Rosado, the grapes are meticulously selected, destemmed, and macerated for 5 hours before fermenting in wooden vats of nearly 2,000 litres for 20-25 days at a controlled temperature of 18°C. After fermentation, the wine remains for several months in wooden vats in contact with its fine lees, imparting it with unique complexity and elegance.
2020 Breca Garnacha, Calatayud, Spain $19.99
An authentic wine produced from the original Garnacha, which was first cultivated in Aragón in the 7th Century, and spread around Europe by the Medieval Kingdom of Aragón. Calatayud produces a unique expression of Garnacha due to its geographic and climactic conditions. As Spain's highest altitude region for the production of Garnacha, the temperature swings are radical - up to 60°F in the summer. This produces wines with deep color and character, as well as lively acidity. The wine is characterized by aromas of ripe black fruit, overlaid with spices such as black pepper. There is an obvious minerality to the wine, proceeding from vineyards' diverse range of soil types
2022 Muga Reserva, Rioja, Spain $34.99
The 2022 harvest, which was hot in character with early ripening, produced a wine with great aromatic intensity. A wine with a marked fruity profile, with clean aromas and delicate reminders of the undergrowth. The ageing is very well integrated, enhancing the freshness and complexity. On the palate it is well-balanced, with firm but silky tannins, good structure and a long finish. It stands out for its perfectly balanced acidity and soft tannins. Perfect for enjoying now, but again thanks to its great balance and structure, it can remain in the bottle for several years.
Manual harvesting. Fermentation in wooden vats with controlled temperatures. Aged for 24 months in casks made in our own coopers’ workshop with selection of the sources. The origin of the wood is 80% French oak and 20% American. Before bottling the wine is fined using fresh egg whites. It then spends a minimum of 12 months in our bottle cellar to give it greater complexity and finesse.
While not the oldest or largest in Rioja, Muga undoubtedly stands as one of the most iconic and esteemed wineries of the DOCa Rioja. With over 90 years of history, this family-owned winery has achieved what few manage: staying true to its roots while continuing to innovate. Founded in 1932 by Isaac Muga and Aurora Caño, Muga has witnessed generations of passion and dedication to viticulture, always striving for excellence.
2021 Bodegas Ordonez Vatan, Toro, Spain $44.99
If you’re looking for an impressive, powerful red, you’re not going to do better than Bodegas Ordoñez’s 2021 Vatan. It’s made from Tinta de Toro, Spain’s most historic clone of Tempranillo, and a prime plot of 125-year-old own-rooted, dry-farmed vines. Aged for nearly two years in barrel to smooth out the region’s sometimes fierce tannins, this will be an incredible pairing at your fanciest steak night. Grown in one of Spain’s top vintages ever, this bottle boasts 96 points from tough-scoring Vinous—and if you’re a Cab lover with even a passing interest in Spanish wines, you ought to have a six-pack in your cellar, stat.
The Toro region is just two hours from Madrid, but pretty much off the radar of most US wine lovers.
No one has done more to champion Toro than importer Jorge Ordoñez, and no one makes better wine from the region’s gnarled old vines and thick-skinned grapes. Ordoñez was astounded at the old vines and incredible terroirs he saw on his first visit in 1991, when the region was basically unknown, so he co-founded Bodegas Numanthia in the late 90s. Numanthia was so successful that LVHM—which owns Krug, Cheval Blanc, Yquem, and Dom Perignon—bought the estate from him in ‘07.