In a nutshell, Alfredo Eiga makes wines unlike any other Txakoli you’ve ever tasted. Cast out of the DO for daring to challenge convention, he set out to showcase the true terroir of the Basque Country.

A native of the region, Eiga first studied Agricultural Engineering before completing a Master’s degree in Viticulture and Enology in Barcelona. Encounters with Imanol Garay and the work of his mentor, Richard Leroy, proved pivotal, reinforcing his conviction to craft wines that speak clearly of place, free from manipulation.

Today, he farms approximately four hectares of steep, south-facing vineyards planted with Hondarrabi Zuri (Courbu Blanc), Hondarrabi Zerratia (Petit Courbu), and a few rows of Izkiriota Txikia (Petit Manseng). The soils are left untilled and undisturbed, encouraging a rich and diverse cover crop. Herbicides have not been used for over eight years, and despite widespread skepticism about its financial viability, Eiga plans to transition fully to biodynamics by 2025. In a region where rainfall and humidity are so high, this is a brave, pioneering move.

Fermentations are always spontaneous and largely carried out in French oak barrels. The wines undergo extended lees ageing, with part of the production deliberately left untopped. The result is a range of wines that have a profound sense of place, combining mineral tension with layered complexity and a subtle oxidative character.

I still remember being in San Sebastián when I asked a local wine merchant what the best local wine was. Without hesitation, he pointed to Izaki and said, “It’s like a Basque Burgundy.” After a week of drinking the fizzy, thin wines the region is better known for, I was skeptical.

But then I looked around his shop, walls lined with genuine unicorn bottles, and figured he must have decent taste. He was damn right. That first sip is still etched in my memory almost four years later. Each vintage has only gotten better since. It’s now a buy-on-sight wine for me.