Txalaparta is Bordatto’s top natural cider which takes its name from a wooden Basque musical instrument originating from a form of work that transformed the rhythmic crushing of the cider press into recreation. When it came time to crush the apples in the press at harvest time, the txalaparta would be played, and local villagers knew that it meant there was going to be a party soon. The villagers would gather at the cider house to eat, drink cider, dance, and frolic while playing and listening to the txalaparta until dawn.

While the txalaparta is two musicians playing on wood, this cider is two apples ‘playing’ on wood. Txalaparta is a delicately sparkling natural cider produced with a blend of two different organic, heirloom apple varieties indigenous to the French Basque region, Aphez Sagarra and Eztika, grown on extremely steep hillsides in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains that typically would never have been considered for apple trees. Owners Bixintxo and Pascale Aphaule like to joke about it being the “Côte-Rôtie of apples.” 

Txalaparta is a hearty, natural cider with the complexity associated with grape wine, completely original and unequaled in French Basque Country. Txalaparta is delicious when young but is best appreciated after a few years of bottle aging, having the ability to improve in bottle for five or more years. As the primary notes from the fruit drop out, the ciders become more vinous, with complex aromatics and pronounced tannins that leave one reaching, inevitably, to descriptors more often associated with fine wines.

Vinification – Handpicked indigenous Basque varieties Aphez Sagarra and Eztika are crushed and spontaneously fermented by indigenous yeasts on the lees in a combination of oak barrels and amphora. It is then racked and bottled without fining or filtration. No sulfur is added and no dosage.

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