2021 Envínate Benje Blanco
WINEMAKER: Roberto Santana, José Martínez, Laura Ramos & Alfonso Torrente
REGION: Canary Islands, SP
VARIETY: Listán Blanco
VITICULTURE: Organic
Benje blanco hails from high altitude vineyards, over 1000m absl, on the north western corner of Tenerife, right on the shoulder of the dominating Teide volcano. This area usually sits above the cloud cover and is one of the driest parts of north side of Tenerife. Vines here all date from around 1910 when the area was re-planted after an eruption cleared the land. Straight Listan Blanco (aka Palomino) that is dry grown and picked in August. Fermented in concrete tanks before half the wine is transferred to used oak while the other half remains in concrete. About 50% of the 2021 develops a slight layer of flor during elevage, removing some of the glyceric texture that Palomino can have in warmer zones and exposing more of the wines acid drive and saline minerality.
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.