98 Pt (WA) Rare Canary Island White Back in Stock!

MORE EXQUISITE CANARY ISLAND WHITE

“I am thrilled that we just received a second drop of the stunning 98 point 2022 Envínate Palo Blanco Listán Blanco Tenerife Canary Islands for $48.99. Last year, we promoted the 2021 at a higher price, $54.99, and our first drop sold out without a score! (It ended up with a 97 point rating which came in after we were sold out.) Our first drop sold out in record time, and we were able to secure a limited quantity - including ONE magnum, so don’t wait too long! This is a wine of incredible character and texture that drinks like a Grand Cru white Burgundy; it's rich but has a light mouthfeel. It is smokey and flinty with plenty of acidity, and great notes of apricots and lemon. The Palo Blanco is one of the most sought-after wines in Envínate's repertoire, and is made from 100-year-old vines in a tiny 1.5 hectare vineyard. This wine always blows me away and we used to only get 12 bottles each year, but we’ve been more fortunate lately! It’s definitely one of the ‘hidden secrets’ of Spain, and 98 points from Luis Gutiérrez of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate is their highest score ever for the Palo Blanco!

Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco, are a volcanic region, where biodiversity and ancient grape vines thrive. The islands vines escaped the great Phylloxera scourge of the late 19th century, so to this day they remain ungrafted, and they often grow in uniquely braided trellis systems on volcanic soil at high elevations. Such is the case for this wine, which is made from Listán Blanco, the most widely planted white variety on the islands, and is known in Sherry production as ‘Palomino.’ It produces wines that are crisp and lively, with lemon-lime and green apple flavors.

The winery name, Envínate, translates to ‘wine yourself.’ The winery was founded by four winemaker friends whose goal is to produce expressive wines that showcase the unique terroirs of both the Canary Islands and Riberia Sacra (on the mainland) regions, using minimal intervention and old-school techniques. Hence, grapes are handpicked and foot stomped, no chemicals and minimal sulfur are used, and they are fermented with wild yeast to produce what this ‘Fab 4’ calls ‘honest wines.’ Now is the time to ‘wine yourself’ on this unique white while it lasts!” – Eduardo Bolaños, Wine House

On Thursday, April 11, we are thrilled to welcome Pepe Raventós, twenty-first (!) generation proprietor of Raventós i Blanc for an in-store tasting. Raventós i Blanc is a winery that many believe to be one of the finest, if not the finest, producer of sparkling wine in Spain—and beyond. Pepe will highlight 5 Raventos i Blanc sparkling wines as well as 4 wines from his sister property of Can Sumoi in the high mountains of the Catalan coast.

98 Points: “The heat from late August didn't affect much the grapes that were used for the 2022 Palo Blanco, as they are picked much later than the grapes from other zones of Tenerife. So, the 2022 vintage in Los Realejos is a lot fresher than in Taganana or La Orotava. In fact, I liked the palate of this 2022 better than that of the 2021; it's vibrant, lovely and fresh. The nose is still a little reductive, and the notes of flowers and herbs take time to emerge. 13,000 bottles and 167 magnums produced. It was bottled in July 2023. Drink Date: 2024 – 2030” – Luis Gutiérrez, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (November 2023)

ABOUT THE PRODUCER

Envínate (translates as "wine yourself") is the brainchild of 4 friends, winemakers Roberto Santana, Alfonso Torrente, Laura Ramos, and José Martínez. This gang of 4 formed back in 2005 while studying enology at the University of Miguel Hernandez in Alicante. Upon graduation, they formed a winemaking consultancy, which evolved into Envínate, a project that focuses on exploring distinctive parcels mainly in the Atlantic-inflected regions of Ribeira Sacra and the Canary Islands. Their collective aim is to make profoundly pure and authentic wines that express the terruño of each parcel in a clear and concise manner. To this end, no chemicals are used in any of the Envínate vineyards, all parcels are picked by hand, the grapes are foot-trodden, and the wines are fermented exclusively with wild yeasts, with a varying proportion of whole grape clusters included. For aging, the wines are raised in old barrels and concrete, and sulfur is only added at bottling, if needed. The results are some of the most exciting and honest wines being produced in Spain today.

Palo Blanco cuvee is sourced from a 1.5ha vineyard of centenarian cordon trenzado (braided vines) Listan Blanco at 600m elevation, and is named for the area where it’s planted. The grapes are hand-harvested, pressed full cluster into large concrete tank off the skins and fermented without malolactic occurring, then raised in two Friulian 2500L oval foudres for 10 months. Bottling is without fining or filtration.

VINTAGE REPORT

The very successful 2022 vintage owes much to the restorative rains of 2021 which restored groundwater and helped enable a later harvest than in early years with similarly hot and dry weather patterns (like 2019 and 2020). While the warmer summer did mean a slightly earlier harvest than in ’21, ’22 was a hugely successful and high quality year.

TECHNICAL NOTES

Origin: Los Realejos, Tenerife, Canary Islands.
Varieties: 100% Lístan Blanco.
Vineyard: From four parcels of 100+ year-old vines near Los Realejos, all north-facing and trained in the traditional cordón trenzado at 500-850m above sea level. The only
treatments in the vineyard are sulfur, bentonite, and silica.
Vinification Method: The grapes were destemmed and pressed then fermented
spontaneously in concrete without temperature control. The wine was racked into one 2500L foudre and 350L barrels to rest and undergo malolactic fermentation. Bottled without fining, filtering, and only a small addition of sulfur.
Alcohol: 12%
Total Sulfur: <25mg/l (1.5mg/L added at bottling)