Imanol Garay

(Pays Basque, France)

It’s funny how things work sometimes. The other night I revisited a bottle of Hegan Egin 19 with some friends, and then the next morning, out of the blue, I see a call coming from Imanol through WhatsApp. I don’t remember drunkenly texting him about the wine, but somehow he knew that he was on my mind. We mostly chatted about pianos the entire time, and how impossible it’s becoming for both of us to make music and to drink wine at the same time. “Two glasses per three hours of playing music” he said. “There’s absolutely no way” I replied, insinuating that in that amount of time, I would need much more. He doesn’t like how new Yamahas sound, but he said my old refurbished upright from the 90s sounds great, at least from the playing he heard from an instagram post. This week I don’t really feel like writing about what Imanol’s wines taste like, or really anyone’s for that matter, and if you’ve followed Canta for any duration of time, you’ve realized that Garay, working more or less remotely and across the Spanish Basque and French borders is held in high regard over here in our little weird corner of the LA natural wine “scene.” Imanol’s 21s have finally made it out west, and as always, it’s a pleasure to offer.

Clandestinus 2021
Graciano, Grenache
$39

Ixilune 2021
Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng, Raffiat de Moncade, Petit Courbu
$72