500330984_1.jpg
  • 94

2019 Envinate Taganan Blanco

Tenerife, SPAIN
$46. 99
Bottle
$563.88 Dozen
ABV: 12%
Closure: Cork

Envínate, which literally translates as “Wine Yourself,” is the project of four young passionate winemakers: Roberto Santana (based in the Canaries), Jose Martinez (Almansa), Laura Ramos (Murcia) and Alfonso Torrente (Ribeira Sacra). The four met while studying oenology in Alicante in 2005 and formed a collective based on a shared philosophy of wine and a desire to explore the ancient, Atlantic influenced terroirs of western Spain.

In 2008, the group bought their first vineyard in Ribeira Sacra, then took control of vineyards on the north side of Tenerife, and followed with a single patch of Tinta Amarela in Extremadura. Finally, in 2012, the group began working with a site in Almansa, where Jose lives and works, planted to Garnacha Tintorera. In each region, they work old, previously abandoned vineyards, but importantly for a project with such spread, one of the team lives full time in each location, working the vineyards year round.

Táganan is both the name of a village on the very north eastern tip of Tenerife and a local term for steep slope. Envínate make two reds and two whites from this village; Táganan Tinto and Blanco, which come from multiple old parcels and two crus, parcelas Campanario and Margalagua. All the wines are field blends containing a dizzying array of obscure local varieties grown on very old bush vines in the steep volcanic soils overlooking the ocean.

Other Reviews....
The white 2019 Táganan Blanco mixes grapes from different vineyards and altitudes ranging between 75 and 400 meters, from vines that are 50 to 150 years old planted on old basalt soils, mostly in the zone known as Chavarria. Since 2016 the rain in the zone has been 40% less than the normal, so yields are very low, and in 2019 the grapes ripened thoroughly, as they changed the pruning to adapt to four consecutive dry years. Still, yields were reduced by 60%, and the wine, a field blend of Listán Blanco, Marmajuelo, Gual, Forastera Gomera, Vijariego Blanco, Malvasía and Verdello, came in at 12% alcohol, with a low pH (2.98) and notable acidity (7.4 grams). The juice from the destemmed grapes fermented in 1,000-liter plastic bins with indigenous yeasts, and 85% of the wine matured in well-seasoned 600-liter oak barrels and the rest in 350-liter barriques. It has pungent aromas and flavors and a salty touch. Only 2,850 bottles (they produced 5,000 bottles in 2018) were filled in June 2020. Drink 2022 - 2029.
94 points
Luis Gutiérrez - Wine Advocate (Feb 2022)

Sweet berries with lots of orange peel and dried flowers, such as honeysuckle. Medium body, fine tannins and a subtle, fruity finish. Fresh and delicious at the end. Drink now.
94 Points
JamesSuckling.com (October 2021)