Envinate in Unstoppable (Sale!) 3-10-24


 

5% off any 6-11 in-stock Envinate wines
10% off any 12 or more in-stock Envinate wines
Sale ends Wednesday March 13th at 9AM PST

 
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Back in 2019 when I first tasted the wines of Envinate I was impressed but cautious with my enthusiasm. I told myself that these spicy, exotic red and white wines from the Canary Islands and smaller appellations in Spain would be a temporary moment in the zeitgeist of wine trends. A blip on the timeline for new wave wines coming out of Spain. I was wrong. These wines have continued to improve vintage after vintage and now represent the revolutionizing wine movement in Spain as it’s foremost exciting producer. The 2021 and 2022 releases are profound with incredibly elegant acidity, smoky red & white fruits, and unbeatable food pairability. 

You know what I was also wrong about? The prices. I had figured that these wines and their somewhat limited production scale (take a look at their vineyards on the Canary Islands and you’ll see what I mean) would catch the cult wine geek demand curve and become completely unaffordable for the general enthusiast looking to explore modern Spanish wine. Instead, the prices continue to be wildly approachable with the wine in bottle far out performing what the consumer will pay. If you take advantage of our discount offering today, the price you pay will be comically at odds with how good the wine is you’ll be drinking. It’s hard to fathom how these wines are even present in the global market given how wildly difficult it is to produce them. The Canary Islands offer a challenging environment for winemaking, with steep volcanic slopes, windy conditions, and varying microclimates. Envinate embraces these challenges and crafts wines that reflect the character of the islands while pushing the boundaries of traditional winemaking.

The grapes they’re using also completely reinvent the notion of noble varieties in the mind of the wine nerd. Grapes such as Listan Blanco, Listan Negro, Listan Prieto, Listan Gaucho, Baboso, Negramoll, Albillo Criollo, Marmajuelo, Gual (missing several I’m sure) present themselves in wines coming from Tenerife while Mencia, Garnacha Tintorera, Brancellao, Merenzao, Grao Negro form cuvees from the mainland in Ribeira Sacra. If you’re looking for something new to experience in Spanish wine, look no further.

Importer Notes:
“Envínate (translates as “wine yourself”) is the brainchild of 4 friends, winemakers Roberto Santana, Alfonso Torrente, Laura Ramos, and José Martínez.  This gang of 4 formed back in 2005 while studying enology at the University of Miguel Hernandez in Alicante. Upon graduation, they formed a winemaking consultancy, which evolved into Envínate, a project that focuses on exploring distinctive parcels mainly in the Atlantic-inflected regions of Ribeira Sacra and the Canary Islands. Their collective aim is to make profoundly pure and authentic wines that express the terruño of each parcel in a clear and concise manner. To this end, no chemicals are used in any of the Envínate vineyards, all parcels are picked by hand, the grapes are foot-trodden, and the wines are fermented exclusively with wild yeasts, with a varying proportion of whole grape clusters included. For aging, the wines are raised in old barrels and concrete, and sulfur is only added at bottling, if needed. The results are some of the most exciting and honest wines being produced in Spain today.”

Featured Envinate Wines:

Envinate Albahra Tinto 2022 750ml $25.50 special, 36+ bottles available

Wine Advocate 95 points “The 2022 Albahra is from a year of good quality and good quantity, when the blend was slightly different, 62% Garnacha Tintorera, 30% Moravia Agria, 5% Garnacha and 3% Pardillo, because they rented a vineyard where they also have white (Pardillo) grapes (they might produce a white in 2023). 2022 in the Mediterranean zone was a dry year but it was not as warm as in other zones of Spain, and they think it was the best year so far for the Moravia Agria. So, the wines have more freshness and more acidity. Another big change is that 2022 was the first year that was vinified in their new winery in the zone. So, it’s a much fresher wine than the 2021, which was a warmer year”

Envinate Benje Blanco 2022 750ml  $29.50 special, 30 bottles available
Wine Advocate 93+  “All wines are unfiltered and unfined, and the 2022 Benje Blanco showed a little cloudy but with an extremely expressive, nuanced and elegant nose, very subtle. It was a cooler year with more freshness, so they used less flor (which is always used to sharpen the whites), and the palate is long and vertical, very tasty. This is the finest vintage of this wine to date. 21,000 bottles and 240 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2023.”
Jose Pastor Importer Note “100% Listán Blanco. From several parcels of 70–110-year-old vines at 900-1200m elevation farmed by Envínate and 15 local families. Viticulture here is highly traditional: vines grow untrained, the soils [are] worked by hand, and no chemicals are used.”

Envinate Benje Tinto 2022 750ml $29.50 special, 12 bottles available
Wine Advocate 94+ points “The red 2022 Benje is floral, expressive, clean and elegant, reflecting a very good year in the region, with notes of rose petals and talcum powder, a fine texture and very elegant tannins. This has to be the most elegant Benje to date. 28,000 bottles. It was bottled in July 2023.”
Jose Pastor Importer Note “90% Listán Prieto, 9% Listán Blanco, 1% Tintilla. From several parcels of 70–120-year-old vines at 900-1200m elevation farmed by Envínate and 15 local families. Viticulture here is highly traditional: vines grow untrained, the soils is worked by hand, and no chemicals are used.”

Envinate La Santa Ursula 2021 750ml $54.50 special, 6 bottles available
James Suckling 96 points
 “Beautiful nose full of white pepper funk, grapefruit, wild raspberries, chalk and mineral. On the palate, this is ethereal and lively but super tense with a bit more verticality than the equally attractive, funky but linear Táganan. Textured, mineral and wild finish that develops in the finish. Goes on and on. Delicious and so drinkable now, but this can age, for a decade, too, if not more.”

Envinate Migan Tinto 2021 750ml $49 special, 10 bottles available
James Suckling  98 points
 “Nervy, nicely funky, precise and mineral nose with a “protective” flintiness and an alluring peppery edge to the wild berries and pomegranate. Fine, dissolved tannins with a mealy, dusty texture, tapping into a super tangy, fresh palate full of grapefruit zest and wild berries. Really long and irresistible now, but can age.”



Ribeira Sacra vineyard parcels

Envinate Lousas Aldea 2021 750ml $44.50 special, 15 bottles available
James Suckling 96 points 
“Excellent depth with a vibrant lift of pepperiness to the wild and airy bramble fruit and minerality. Chalky and broad on the palate but really weightless with chalky tannins and a fresh, refined finish. Delicious now.”

Envinate Lousas Doade 2021 750ml $59 special, 4 bottles available
James Suckling 95 points  “Fine, chalky nose with fresh brambly fruit, pomegranate, tile and white pepper. Lots of wild fruit on the palate with fine, fresh tannins and a long finish full of wild herbs and some cooked grapefruit. So drinkable now, why hold?”
89% Mencía, 10% other varieties

Envinate Lousas Seoane 2021 750ml $84.50 special, 3 bottles available
Wine Advocate 96 points “The 2021 Lousas Parcela Seoane comes from a field blend of 90% Mencía and 10% other varieties on gneiss and quartz soils, with old vines, all fermented together with full clusters that were foot trodden, and then the wine matured in neutral 228-, 400- and 500-liter oak barrels. It has 13% alcohol and good freshness and acidity. It is a bit austere and closed, somehow with less energy than how the 2022 was showing today. 2,200 bottles were filled in November 2022.”

Envinate Misturado de Abeleda 2021 750ml $54.50 special, 8 bottles available
Jose Pastor Importer Note “Misturado de Abeleda is sourced from a centenarian parcel located in Ribeiras do Sil. This is a  rare, mixed-planted parcel, with about 70% red and 30% white grapes. The grapes were hand-harvested, foot-trodden and co-fermented 100% whole cluster with wild yeasts in open top plastic tubs, then raised in used 300 and 400 liter French oak for 11 months with no racking. The finished wine is bottled without fining, filtration or added SO2. A throwback to Ribeira Sacra’s early days.”
 
ENVINATE WINES  VWS PRICE  AVAILABLE LINK
ENVINATE ALBAHRA CHINGAO 2022 $31.50 5 Link
ENVINATE ALBAHRA CHINGAO 22 MAG $89.00 3 Link
ENVINATE ALBAHRA TINTO 2022 $25.50 36+ Link
ENVINATE BENJE BLANCO 2022 750ML $29.50 30 Link
ENVINATE BENJE TINTO 2021 MAG $79.00 1 Link
ENVINATE BENJE TINTO 2022 750ML $29.50 12 Link
ENVINATE BENJE TINTO 2022 MAG $77.00 2 Link
ENVINATE LA SANTA URSULA 2021 $54.50 6 Link
ENVINATE LOUSAS ALDEA 2021 $44.50 15 Link
ENVINATE LOUSAS ALDEA 2021 MAG $99.00 3 Link
ENVINATE LOUSAS DOADE 2021 $59.00 4 Link
ENVINATE LOUSAS ROSENDE 2021 $54.50 8 Link
ENVINATE LOUSAS SEOANE 2021 $84.50 3 Link
ENVINATE MIGAN 2017 $69.00 1 Link
ENVINATE MIGAN CHINGAO 2022 750 $44.50 4 Link
ENVINATE MIGAN CHINGAO 2022 MAG $94.50 2 Link
ENVINATE MIGAN TINTO 2021 750ML $49.00 10 Link
ENVINATE MISTURADO DE ABELEDA 21 $54.50 8 Link
ENVINATE PALO BLANCO 2021 750ML $54.50 3 Link