2020 Envínate Lousas Viña de Aldea
WINEMAKER: Roberto Santana, José Martínez, Laura Ramos & Alfonso Torrente
REGION: Ribeira Sacra, SP
VARIETAL: Mencía, Merenzao, Caino, Garnacha Tintorerra
VITICULTURE: Organic
Lousas' is the local Gallego word for slate. It's a name that's used to group Envinate's three wines from Ribeira Sacra and a nod to the soil, or more accurately the rock that marks each of these wines. 'Vina de Aldea' translates roughly as wine of the village. It's a blend of several plots from the Amandi, Quiroga, and Ribeiras do Sil subregions of Ribeira Sacra. Mostly Mencia, with about 15% of an array of other local varieties (Merenzao, Caino, Garnacha Tintorerra...) that's been fermented in small lots, parcel by parcel with indigenous yeasts and then kept in a variety of barrels and concrete tanks for 12 months without racking. Vina de Aldea is a beautifully expressive version of Ribeira Sacra, hedonistic, open and vibrantly fresh. Not quite as nuanced as the single vineyards that it accompanies but in terms of sheer drinking pleasure it's absolutely magnificent.
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.
Despite the far flung regions, the Envínate group pride themselves on their work in the vines and see themselves as a collective of viticulturalists, rather than travelling winemakers. At the core of the Envínate project is a belief that four things matter in the production of wine: the personality of the site; the character of the vintage; the soul of the people who work amongst the vines; and not fucking around in the winery because that’s how you make Coca-Cola.