2020 Envinate Taganan Parcela Margalagua Tinto

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 2020 Táganan Parcela Margalagua is a wine that always showcases the volcanic soils and the cooler Atlantic climate from the northeast corner of Tenerife, where there are red basalt soils, rather than the more usual black, and some iron in the soil provides the wine's color. They reckon the iron also provides finer tannins. The nose is always a lot more floral, delicate and all about finesse, to which iron should certainly help. It's also volcanic and spicy, but the dominant note is floral. The palate is medium-bodied and incredibly elegant, with a tasty and faint saltiness, following the line of the 2016, perhaps with a tad more precision. They use 10% of white grapes, something they started in 2015. 2020 was again very dry and even lower yielding, but the wine kept a moderate 12% alcohol, lower pH and higher acidity, which means more freshness. It has an amazing nose, floral, perfumed and showy but extremely elegant; it's more floral and perfumed than the 2019, subtler and more Burgundian and less volcanic. Very defined, clean and precise. The finest Margalagua they have ever produced, with the elegance of the 2018 but one step up in depth, elegance and layers. Only 1,500 bottles were filled in December 2021. Drink 2022 - 2030.
99 points
Luis Gutiérrez - Wine Advocate (Feb 2022)