2018 Envinate Benje Tinto

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.

Benje refers to an area high above the cloud cover on the western edge of the Tiede volcano. It’s an area that produces markedly different wines, from the sappy freshness of the coastal zones but still carries the hallmark lightness of all of Envínate’s wines. Benje Tinto is straight Listan Prieto, Benje Blanco is Listan Blanco. Both are grown on a mixture of old ash and red clay at over 1000m above sea level.

Other Reviews....
The red varietal Listán Prieto (a.k.a. País, Criolla Chica, Mission) 2018 Benje Tinto is from different vineyards in Santiago del Teide in the south of Tenerife at altitudes ranging between 900 and 1,000 meters. Half of the wine was kept in concrete tanks, and the rest was put in well-seasoned, neutral 228-liter oak barrels for a period of eight months. There are some flinty/gun powder aromas when you open the bottle, giving it a slightly reductive personality, but it's perhaps the volcanic character coming through. This is spicy, wild and characterful, with flowers and blood orange notes. It has a light to medium-bodied palate with bright flavors, a wine with lots of light, very fine tannins and a mixture of wild fruit and herbs with the volcanic soils. To me, this is the benchmark Listán Prieto/País together with the Santa Cruz de Coya from Roberto Henríquez from Chile. 16,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2019.
94 points
Luis Gutiérrez - Wine Advocate (Sept 2020)