2023 Envinate, Tenerife, Parcela Margalagua Taganan

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. By far this is the most amazing wine and most sought-after cuvee. One that should go in the cellar as it really drinks better after a few years of bottle age. Táganan is Guanche (the native Canary language) for slope. It is also the name of the northwestern part of Tenerife, Canary Islands where the vines grow wild on cliffs of pure volcanic rock just above the Atlantic Ocean. This is a blend of 90% Listán Negro and Negramoll, 10% Listán Blanco from a few ancient plots in the distinct Margalagua area, with its unique red basalt soils. The vines are 50-150 years old and range in altitude from 275-400m above sea level. The only treatments in the vineyard are sulfur, bentonite, and silicon. The grapes were left whole and not destemmed, then foot trodden and left to macerate and ferment without temperature control in open-top 1000L fermenters for 26days, during which the cap is regularly pumped down very gently. Fermentation completed, the wine rested on its lees for a year in 228L neutral French oak barrels with no racking and completed malolactic fermentation. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with only a small addition of sulfur. This is extraordinary juice.