Taganan

It was at a tasting in London, 5 or 6 years ago, that I was first introduced to the “new wave” wines of Tenerife. Roberto Santana Envinate was working as head wine maker at one of the other top island wineries, Suertes del Marques, based near La Orotava, and I remember the white wines based around Listan Blanco just blowing me away.

Roll the years forward and Roberto, along with young guns Laura Ramos, Jose Martínez and Alfonso Torrente, are continuing to make some of the most fascinating white wines on the island. Táganan is the old local name for this rugged vineyard area, located on the northeastern side of Tenerife, where vines are planted on primary volcanic rock on cliffs just above the Atlantic.

The white wine is a blend of the many different native varieties, which are vinified separately, with some parcels undergoing skin contact. A truly unique and characterful white wine that is deliciously pithy, saline and smoky with refreshing acidity is the result. Varieties include Marmajuelo, Malvasia, Listán Blanco, Gual y Forastera and Albillo, grown organically at between 100 and 500 metres altitude.

Envinate Táganan Blanco 2016, Vinos Atlanticos, Tenerife, 12.5 Abv.

This Táganan white was only bottled in July 2017 and is already showing nuanced complexity. A pale straw yellow, the nose is vibrant and bristling with notes of pear purée, white peach, and baked apples. As expected, this wine is full of intrigue and possibly asks as many questions as it answers. The salinity again rises to the fore with real maritime notes of oyster shell and sea breeze together with subtle smoky oxidative, briney fino sherry complexity, enhanced by the 30% portion of grapes fermented on their skins. The palate too shows fine mineral detail, pithy pear skins, honied white citrus, lemon biscuits and the most faint wood spice hints. There is plenty of fruit concentration interwoven with the intense crushed granite, volcanic basalt minerality that underpins every sip. Pithy with slightly grippy phenolics, this wine has a long, tart, salty finish. Ready to go now, I would probably give this wine another 3 to 4 months in bottle to find its inner yin and yang.

(Wine Safari score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Envinate Palo Blanco 2016, Vinos Atlanicos, Tenerife, 11.5 Abv.

Palo Blanco is the new white project Roberto and colleagues have been working on in the La Orotava region in the north east of the Island. Made from Listan Blanco grown on cordon trenzado from ungrafted vines over 100 years old from an area called Palo Blanco. There you can find a terroir with the highly reputed black volcanic soils which Roberto feels give the most interesting characteristics for white wines specifically, with intense minerality and linearity, or vertical wines as Roberto says. Fermented without skins, in concrete tanks, the wine was then moved to 2500 litre oval foudres from Friuli for further aging.

This barrel sample is being readied for bottling towards the end of 2017, along with the Táganan Tinto 2016. What immediately strikes you about the aromatics is the intense, extra lifted dusty minerality, a melange of crunched gravel, wet grey slate and volcanic basalt, laced with tart green apple, crunchy green pears, sour plums, spicy lemon grass notes and smoky wet hay. On the palate is where the majestic old vine concentration elevates this wine to another level. Compact with racy acids, there is ponderous mid palate concentration and depth, all finely tailored together with such harmonious texture and a supremely saline, pithy fruit balance. The finish is fleshy and broad with mouth watering lemon pastille, green peppercorn, oyster shell, lime peel and wet river pebble terroir notes. An absolutely stunning expression, this could end up being one of the highlights of my Tenerife white wine tastings. Drink now to 2030+.

(Wine Safari Score: 95-96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Envínate is the inspiration of Spanish young guns Laura Ramos, Jose Martínez, Roberto Santana and Alfonso Torrente, four friends who met while studying oenology at the University of Miguel Hernández in Alicante. Their work is currently focused on exploring the ancient, Atlantic-infused terruños (terroirs) of Ribeira Sacra, Canary Islands, Extremadura and Almansa.

Their philosophy is simple: let each single parcel fully express itself through old-fashioned farming and winemaking methods. Currently, there are four different projects under the Envínate umbrella on the go, including the exciting Táganan range made by Roberto Santana and the rest of the Envínate young guns in Tenerife.

Táganan is the old local name for this rugged vineyard area located on the northeastern side of Tenerife, where vines are planted on primary volcanic rock on cliffs just above the Atlantic and grown organically at between 100 and 500 metres in altitude.

This wine is a blend of different native varieties, vinified separately in a mix of concrete tanks and small open top containers, resulting in very juicy and utterly drinkable red wines with focused acidities, and plenty of spicy, fresh, red and black berry fruits, at moderate to low alcohol levels, circa 12 to 12.5 Abv on average.

Envínate Táganan Tinto 2016, Vinos Atlanticos, Tenerife, Spain

A sample taken from one of the 228 litre barrels the wine is currently being aged in, the 2016 Tinto vintage is due to be bottled at the end of 2017. Produced from a blend of mainly Listan Negro and Negramoll, with small amounts of Listan Gacho, Baboso, Mulata, Black Malvasia, and Vijariego Tinto. The nose is reminiscent of a young, earthy, brambly Gevrey Chambertin, showing raisined sweet cranberry, wet grey slate minerality, and a lifted sappy, sweet spice complexity. The palate is sleek, saline and supremely elegant, with subtle hints of crunchy blackberry and cassis berry, but is at no point raw or angular in its youth. Beautifully textured, elegant and incredibly salty, showing the magnificence of both the volcanic terroir and the expression of these indigenous varietals on this coastal peninsula. There are hints of liquorice, black berry, red cherry and sour plum on the long, saline finish that shows so much promise. This tantalising wine might tighten up a little before bottling, but rest assured, this is going to be another superbly accessible, balanced, mouth watering edition of the Táganan Tinto.

(Wine Safari Score: 93-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)