Txakoli Butroi, the dream of 4 families.

Together, the Oletxe, Sasines, Etxebarria and Larrañaga families form the Butroi winery, a young winery with great projection.

Our adventure aboard the Txakolibus, took us this time to the land of Gatika, a Biscayan town of great natural value where the Txakoli Butroi winery is located. This winery is the result of the union of 4 Basque families, a fusion in which we find tradition, history, innovation and illusion in equal parts.

History: Butroi has its origin in the baserri (farmhouse in Basque), and before creating the winery we know today, the families of Oletxe (Zamudio), Sasines (Larrabetzu) and Etxebarria (Gatika) already produced their own wines at home, from the baserri to the square. With Butroi, they took the step of professionalization, a necessary step, to which they accompanied the traditions and processes that their ancestors have used for decades, thus obtaining a balance between tradition and innovation. As you can see, Bodega Butroi is a young but very experienced winery, since, of the four families that make up this project, three were Txakoli producers and the fourth was a winegrower, passion and dedication among vineyards.

Created in 2013, this Biscayan winery owes its name to the river that runs through the town, the Butroi River, a name that will also be familiar to you because of the Butron Castle, a building located in the same municipality and well worth a visit.

Vineyards: Scattered throughout the municipalities of Zamudio, Gatika, Lezama and Larrabetzu, in the region of Uribe, we find the vineyards of Bodega Butroi, a Txakoli, which has burst with force in the sector. Adding all the plots mentioned above, Butroi has approximately 14 hectares of vineyards, most of them in the Txorierri valley. All the partners are aware of the importance of taking care of the vineyards: clean, with good soil and orientation, in Butroi, they are of those who think that Txakoli is made in the vineyards and not in the winery, “the secret is in the soil” they say.

Winery: Butroi is presented to us as a modern, practical and beautifully designed wooden winery capable of producing about 150,000 bottles per year. The winery has spaces for the production, storage and presentation of Txakoli, 3 spaces divided into 2 floors, which offer us a nice tour of all areas of the winery.

Surrounded by apple trees and vineyards, next to the historical Etxebarria nurseries, in the middle of nature and far from the big urban centers. This is Butroi’s environment, natural, like its wines.

Attention: Butroi’s partners accompanied us during our stay at the winery, an oenological experience that helped us understand firsthand the sacrifice and passion that is breathed at Butroi.

Visits: Visits to the Butroi Winery are a la carte, at the request of the client. In our case, we started with a small introduction in front of the winery, to then go on to tour the facilities and finish tasting some of the txakolis they produce. The visit to the Butroi Winery, makes clear the enthusiasm with which its creators are committed to the production of Txakoli.

Tasting: During our visit, we tasted several of the wines produced by Butroi, including a limited edition of Txakoli Butroi matured in oak barrels, very good! Although the winery is known for the Txakoli that bears its name, we should not forget the wines that each of them produced before their merger, and, represented by their wines, all 3 continue to have a strong presence in the sector. Along with the tasting we enjoyed a magnificent hamaiketako (eleven o’clock lunch in Basque) composed of local products that made the visit gain extra points.

Innovation: Txakoli matured in barrels, a detail that we loved. Txakoli is a wine of the year, yes, but like everything in this life, txakoli must also evolve. Remember that txakoli was a wine made by hand at home, for those at home, etxekoa (the home wine in Basque), of a rather low quality, a wine that today has evolved to become one of the best in the world, endorsed by great world experts. Why not go a step further?

Awards: The winery has reaped in its first years of life, several prestigious awards to national, including the prestigious Bacchus award, an award that accompanies our exclusive tourist accreditation “TurismoVasco Tiketa”.

Txakoli gorri: “Sardines from Santurce, hake from Bermeo, Txakoli Gorri from Bakio and tomatoes from Deusto”, so says the bilbainada that narrates the charms of our beloved Bizkaia, a letter that perhaps we should modify to name the “Txakoli gorri” (red Txakoli in Basque) from the Butroi winery, a wine that is marketed under the brand name Txakoli Sasine S.

Txakolibus: Butroi winery is part of Txakolibus, one of the few regular routes of visits to Txakoli wineries that we find in the Basque Country. Currently, Txakolibus tours the Txakoli wineries in the region of Uribe, among them:

Butroi is the natural evolution of family wineries. An evolution that has resulted in a winery with great potential in the process of turning grapes into one of the most prized wines of the Basque Country. What are you waiting for to visit the Butroi Winery?