In This Newsletter:
Fresh & Refreshing: Envinate’s New Spain Wines
Fall In Love with New Spain
Stock Up & Save On:
Envinate
Fresh & Refreshing: Envinate’s New Spain Wines
Fall In Love with New Spain
Stock Up & Save On:
Envinate
The madly loved Spanish wines of Envínate wines buzz with energy, capturing the terroir of their respective regions as if by magic. The methods of this group of winemakers, friends Alfonso Torrente, José Ángel Martínez, Laura Ramos, and Roberto Santana, are low-intervention in the winery and an ultra-traditional, minimalist approach in the vineyards. They are one of the forerunners of the “New Spanish” wine movement.
To quote wine writer Megan Krigbaum of Punch Magazine, “Envínate, for many buyers, is today’s best representation of the alternative [to Rioja]”: the fresh and artisanal style of New Spain. Vintage after vintage, this winery’s fame has only grown, and their already world-class quality somehow continues to improve.
Today, we’re featuring wines on sale from all three of the regions they work in: the Levant, Tenerife in the Canary Islands, and Ribeira Sacra in Galicia.
The “Albahra” wines from the Levant within the Castilla-La Mancha, along the middle of the eastern coast. They are Garnacha Tintorera-based, aka Alicante Bouchet. This grape is one of the few grape varieties to have red juice. Aromatically, it is somewhere in the realm of Grenache and Syrah, though typically done in a lighter style, especially chez Envínate.
Despite being warm, tropical islands, the Canaries are home to several wine-growing regions, particularly along the foggy cliffs and slopes that line the Atlantic Ocean along the northern coastline on the main island, Tenerefe.
Here, the friends work with local growers that farm a collection of wild and scattered vineyards across this rugged terrain. These are ancient vines planted in the volcanic rock along the steeply terraced cliffs that run along ocean. The Orotava Valley wines, Palo Blanco and Migan, represent a cooler region along the northern slope of the Teide volcano. Here the Listan Blanco (white, also known as Palomino) and Listan Negro (red) vines are trained in the traditional “cordon trenzado” style of braiding the vines along the rows.
The Ribeira Sacra wines are composed of ancient native vines of mostly Mencía co-planted with other varietals. The vines are ancient, starting at 60-years-old at minimum with single vineyard bottlings going well up from there. These are excellent examples of what this profound and profoundly Spanish grape can do. Much like Terre Nere’s work with indigenous Sicilian grapes, Envínate’s Mencía can give international superstars like Syrah and Pinot Noir a run for their money.
Envínate has drawn international praise and attention, with particular notice from Luis Gutierrez of the Wine Advocate and multiple reviewers at James Suckling. Their wines are highly sought-after by collectors for their authenticity and ability to capture the terroir of these two profound regions.
The latest releases just might be the best: 2023 was a fantastic vintage and the wines show the trademark freshness and energy with depth you can swim in. These are fascinating, age-worthy expressions of “New Spain” wines that are not to be missed, especially not during our three-day sale.
To quote wine writer Megan Krigbaum of Punch Magazine, “Envínate, for many buyers, is today’s best representation of the alternative [to Rioja]”: the fresh and artisanal style of New Spain. Vintage after vintage, this winery’s fame has only grown, and their already world-class quality somehow continues to improve.
Today, we’re featuring wines on sale from all three of the regions they work in: the Levant, Tenerife in the Canary Islands, and Ribeira Sacra in Galicia.
The “Albahra” wines from the Levant within the Castilla-La Mancha, along the middle of the eastern coast. They are Garnacha Tintorera-based, aka Alicante Bouchet. This grape is one of the few grape varieties to have red juice. Aromatically, it is somewhere in the realm of Grenache and Syrah, though typically done in a lighter style, especially chez Envínate.
Despite being warm, tropical islands, the Canaries are home to several wine-growing regions, particularly along the foggy cliffs and slopes that line the Atlantic Ocean along the northern coastline on the main island, Tenerefe.
Here, the friends work with local growers that farm a collection of wild and scattered vineyards across this rugged terrain. These are ancient vines planted in the volcanic rock along the steeply terraced cliffs that run along ocean. The Orotava Valley wines, Palo Blanco and Migan, represent a cooler region along the northern slope of the Teide volcano. Here the Listan Blanco (white, also known as Palomino) and Listan Negro (red) vines are trained in the traditional “cordon trenzado” style of braiding the vines along the rows.
The Ribeira Sacra wines are composed of ancient native vines of mostly Mencía co-planted with other varietals. The vines are ancient, starting at 60-years-old at minimum with single vineyard bottlings going well up from there. These are excellent examples of what this profound and profoundly Spanish grape can do. Much like Terre Nere’s work with indigenous Sicilian grapes, Envínate’s Mencía can give international superstars like Syrah and Pinot Noir a run for their money.
Envínate has drawn international praise and attention, with particular notice from Luis Gutierrez of the Wine Advocate and multiple reviewers at James Suckling. Their wines are highly sought-after by collectors for their authenticity and ability to capture the terroir of these two profound regions.
The latest releases just might be the best: 2023 was a fantastic vintage and the wines show the trademark freshness and energy with depth you can swim in. These are fascinating, age-worthy expressions of “New Spain” wines that are not to be missed, especially not during our three-day sale.
5% off any 3-5 in-stock bottles of Envinate
10% off any 6+ or more in-stock bottles of Envinate
Discount will not display online or in your cart,
We will adjust your invoice before processing your charge.
Sale ends Tuesday, December 30th at 9 am Pacific.
10% off any 6+ or more in-stock bottles of Envinate
Discount will not display online or in your cart,
We will adjust your invoice before processing your charge.
Sale ends Tuesday, December 30th at 9 am Pacific.
We offer 28 in-stock options from Envinate on sale now, including:
Levant:
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Envinate ‘Albahra’ Tinto, Castilla-La Mancha 2023 750ml Displayed Price: $26, that’s $24.70 at 5% off and $23.40 at 10% off, 19 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 94 points “After the Chingao bottling, there is a creamy and spicy whiff in the 2023 Albahra, which makes it feel more mainstream. It’s juicy and aromatic and has a medium-bodied palate, contained ripeness, 13% alcohol and good balance, with some fine-grained tannins. Last year, they introduced some white Pardilla grapes in the blend that seem to have given it freshness and a kick in the palate, which is Mediterranean, with good freshness and a balanced mouthfeel. 67,000 bottles and 600 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2024.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
A Chingao Vineyards & Envinate ‘Albahra Chingao’, Castilla-La Mancha 2023 750ml Displayed Price: $31.90, that’s $30.31 at 5% off and $28.71 at 10% off, 5 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 93 points “The 2023 Albahra Chingao, the custom cuvée for their US importer, was produced with Garnacha Tintorera and bottled without any added sulfur after eight months in concrete. It has a characterful and intriguing nose with notes of ripe berries and herbs and an earthy touch and hints of meat and iron. It has a touch of rusticity, something inherent to the grape. The wine feels very young, and the tannins are still present and suggest leaving it in bottle for a while. It’s a red for the table. 682 bottles and 21 magnums were filled in June 2024.”
Ribeira Sacra:
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
A Chingao Vineyards & Envinate ‘Misturado de Abeleda’, Alis, Ribeira Sacra 2022 750ml Displayed Price: $54.50, that’s $51.78 at 5% off and $49.05 at 10% off, 19 bottles in stock now
Jose Pastor Selections Importer Note “This wine is a field blend, with about 65% red grapes (Mencia, Brancellao, Alicante Bouschet, Mouraton, Gran Negro) and 35% white grapes (Godello, Torrontes, Treixadura, Albariño, Doña Branca). Vineyard: From a plot of 80-year-old vines at roughly 650m above sea level by the Sil river with gneiss and schist soils. It is planted in the old style of co-planting white and red grape varieties.”
Envinate ‘Lousas’ Viña de Aldea, Ribeira Sacra 2022 750ml Displayed Price: $44.50, that’s $42.28 at 5% off and $40.05 at 10% off, 12 bottles in stock now
Envinate ‘Lousas’ Viña de Aldea, Galicia 2022 1.5L Displayed Price: $89, that’s $84.55 at 5% off and $80.10 at 10% off, 1 magnum in stock now
James Suckling 96 points “This has a fascinating nose that shows pepper, dried herbs, wild red fruit and a pleasant, enveloping herbal note. The palate is medium-bodied with silky tannins, focused and delineated, with lots of precision and a savory sensation. An outstanding entry-level wine in the region. This comes from multiple plots in the Amandi, Quiroga and Mino areas. Each plot is vinified separately with varying proportions of whole bunches. Aging takes place mostly in barriques with a smaller proportion in cement. Drink now.”
This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!
Envinate Lousas Doad, Ribeira Sacra 2022 750ml Displayed Price: $59, that’s $56.05 at 5% off and $53.10 at 10% off, 10 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 94-95 points “The 2022 Doad Lousas is the second vintage of the village red. It comes from gneiss and schist soils from the traditional zone of the Sil and is warmer and riper, a textbook example of ripe Mencía fruit, an earlier zone with juicy wines. As with the rest of the 2022s, I tasted the wine after it had been blended and the sulfur adjusted, waiting in stainless steel to be bottled in a couple of months. It has the textbook floral and perfumed nose, quite fruit-driven, juicy and tasty, with some fine tannins that need a bit of time in bottle to get polished. They expect to fill some 3,300 bottles from a number of barrels of different sizes.”
Envinate Lousas Doad, Ribeira Sacra 2023 750ml Displayed Price: $45, that’s $42.75 at 5% off and $40.50 at 10% off, 17 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 94-96 points “The sample of the 2023 Doad Lousas comes from a mixture of terroirs, all in mostly 228-liter barrels but some larger ones too. 2023 seems like a superb vintage for the wines from Envínate in Ribeira Sacra, wines with good ripeness but contained alcohol. This has a medium-bodied palate with very fine, chalky tannins, mostly from gneiss and schist soils. It has around 12.5% alcohol. They have more volume, but part will be used for the Viñas del Aldea blend; they still expect to be able to produce around 5,000 bottles that should be filled in November 2024.”
Envinate Lousas Rosende, Ribeira Sacra 2023 750ml Displayed Price: $49, that’s $46.55 at 5% off and $44.10 at 10% off, 10 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 96-98 points “The 2023 Rosende Lousas, despite its youth, is showing superbly. This feels different, perhaps a little more Rhône-ish, with a meaty edge. It’s beautifully textured and elegant, with more weight than the lighter 2022, more serious and with more depth and structure. It has 12.5% alcohol. There should be around 3,300 bottles of this. It should be bottled in November 2024.”
Envinate Lousas Parcela Seoane, Ribeira Sacra 2023 750ml Displayed Price: $95, that’s $90.25 at 5% off and $85.50 at 10% off, 6 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 96-98 points “The 2023 Lousas Parcela Seoane is very primary and undeveloped, with some notes of honey and beeswax, from a year when the wines show their character in a clearer way than in 2022. It’s a cooler, more Atlantic vintage with more rain that takes the wines back to the character from before, cooler vintages like 2014, which are a rarity now. This is the ripest of the 2023 vintage, with some 13.5% alcohol. It was vinified with 100% full clusters and 40 days of maceration, and it is currently aging in oak barrels of different sizes. There will be some 2,000 bottles of this, which should be bottled in November 2024.”
Tenerife:
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Envinate ‘Benje’ Blanco, Santiago del Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands 2023 750ml Displayed Price: $31.90, that’s $30.31 at 5% off and $28.71 at 10% off, 14 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 94 points “The white 2023 Benje Blanco, fermented without temperature control since 2021, matured in a 2,500-liter oak foudre and neutral 350-liter barrel, while 65% of the wine was kept in concrete. They also selected finer lees for the élevage, and the wine seems to have gained in finesse. The white grapes didn’t suffer the heat as much as the red ones, but it was not an easy harvest in Santiago del Teide. There’s less oxidation, and the percentage of wine with flor yeasts (25% to 30%) made for finer wines too. There’s a sensation of higher freshness, sharper; it didn’t go through malolactic. It’s also less reductive, and despite being a riper year, the alcohol was kept to 12% and the pH 3.06. It’s a great Benje Blanco. 19,000 bottles and 220 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2023.”
Envinate ‘Benje’ Tinto, Santiago del Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands 2023 750ml Displayed Price: $31.90, that’s $30.31 at 5% off and $28.71 at 10% off, 21 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 94 points “The bottled 2023 Benje, which has 9% Listán Blanco and 1% Tintilla grapes to complement the Listán Prieto, comes from a very warm and dry year in Santiago del Teide when the vines got blocked and suffered a lot, as they also did in 2019. With the experience from that year, they did a softer vinification, with shorter macerations and extraction. Here, it was an even warmer and earlier year than 2022, with more immediate wines, approachable and open from the very beginning. It’s floral, aromatic and expressive, fine-boned and harmonious, with good freshness. 18,000 bottles and 250 magnums produced. It was bottled in May 2024.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Envinate Táganan Blanco, Tenerife, Canary Islands 2023 750ml Displayed Price: $49, that’s $46.55 at 5% off and $44.10 at 10% off, 28 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 95+ points “The 2023 Táganan Blanco didn’t go through malolactic and matured in larger barrels (they are abandoning the 228-liter oak barrels), and the wine seems to have gained in freshness. It’s also less reductive—volcanic, yes, but less reductive. It has 11.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.02 with 7.24 grams of acidity. It’s vibrant and sharp, clean, light to medium-bodied, with purity and symmetry. This wine is going from strength to strength. 6,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2024.”
Envinate Táganan Tinto, Tenerife, Canary Islands 2022 750ml Displayed Price: $54.50, that’s $51.78 at 5% off and $49.05 at 10% off, 27 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 94+ points “The just-bottled 2022 Táganan Tinto is juicy and primary but with very good balance and no excess. It has less reductive character and is sapid and balanced. They did slightly shorter macerations and used a little more full clusters for this wine. It’s a very good vintage for this bottling. It was bottled in July 2023. 94+, drink 2025-2030”
Envinate ‘Palo Blanco’, Los Realejos, Tenerife, Canary Islands 2023 750ml Displayed Price: $51.90, that’s $49.31 at 5% off and $46.71 at 10% off, 14 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 98+ points “The grapes for the 2023 Palo Blanco were harvested earlier than ever, picked even earlier than the grapes from Taganana. It was a warm year, but the wine feels more like it’s from a cool climate; it has a moderate 11.5% alcohol and is volcanic and less reductive than in previous years, fine-boned and sharp, with a vibrant palate, effervescent acidity (7.1 grams and a pH of 3.05) and a dry chalkiness that gives it salinity. It’s approachable but should also age in bottle. 13,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2024.”
Envinate La Santa de Úrsula, Tacoronte-Acentejo, Tenerife, Canary Islands 2023 750ml Displayed Price: $49, that’s $46.55 at 5% off and $44.10 at 10% off, 16 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 96 points “When I tasted the 2023 La Santa de Úrsula in late June, it had finished its élevage in oak and was in stainless steel waiting to be bottled at the end of July. They keep the wines in tank for a while before being bottled, but this is very representative of the final wine, as they adjusted the sulfur and everything. It’s floral and aromatic, spicy, very elegant, balanced, fresh and approachable. It’s a step up from the 2022. They expect to fill some 6,000 bottles.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
A Chingao Vineyards & Envinate ‘Vidueño de Santiago del Teide’, Tenerife, Canary Islands 2023 750ml Displayed Price: $39, that’s $37.05 at 5% off and $35.10 at 10% off, 20 bottles in stock now
Importer Note “Vidueño de Santiago del Teide is sourced from a tiny 0.15ha parcel of old-vine, untrained pie franc Listan Blanco and Listan Prieto. This co-planted parcel is hand-harvested, destemmed and macerated for 15 days in an open tub, then transferred to three old 228L French barriques to age for 8 months on fine lees without battonage or added SO2. Bottling is without fining, filtration or any added SO2. Due to its high elevation, this wine offers much less Atlantic character than their Taganan or Valle de La Orotava cuvees.”
Shop our twenty-eight Envinate selections now!
Don’t miss our additional sale going on now:
Non-Sparkling French Magnums
5% off any 3-5 in-stock magnums of non-sparkling French wine
10% off any 6+ or more in-stock magnums of non-sparkling French wine
Discount will not display online or in your cart,
We will adjust your invoice before processing your charge.
Sale ends Monday, December 29th at 9 am Pacific.