2023 Envinate, Tenerife, Taganan Tinto

Envínate literally translates to “wine yourself,” which is a concept we can get behind! Directly after graduating enology school in 2005, four friends – Roberto Santana, Alfonso Torrente, Laura Ramos, and José Martinez – embarked on a mission with Envínate: to create wines of profound purity and unwavering focus and show the heights of what can be done with hard work and dedication in these previously unheralded terroirs. Their dedication extends to the very heart of their vineyards, where they employ extraordinary measures to ensure health and vitality. Focusing on the venerable old vines of the Canary Islands and Ribeira Sacra, they produce some of Spain's most graceful and articulate wines. They do not use chemicals in the vineyard and rely solely on native yeasts for fermentation, their wines speak authentically of their origin. Envínate stands as a beacon of the new wave of Spanish winemakers, particularly along the Atlantic coast, masterfully capturing the essence of their unique terroirs in wines that are an unadulterated pleasure. Their versatility with a wide range of food makes them especially well-suited for the dinner table, but some can also be great for cocktails. These wines brim with unique character and provide a ton of pleasure. The Envínate philosophy is simple: let each parcel fully express itself in the finished wine by utilizing old-fashioned farming and winemaking methods. This is mostly Listán Negro and Negramoll, with small amounts of Mulata, Listán Gacho, and Malvasía Rosada. From a variety of parcels planted on volcanic soils, mostly around the Chavarria area. The vines are planted at 200 to 400m above sea level and range from 50 to 150 years old. The only treatments in the vineyard are sulfur, bentonite, and silica. Each of the many different parcels was vinified separately, all in open-top 1000L tanks, partially (30-50%) destemmed, and macerated for 12-15 days. After blending, the wine rested in 228L neutral French oak barrels for a year on its lees without any racking, where it completed malolactic fermentation. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, with a small addition of sulfur.