APPELLATION: Ycoden-Daute-Isora, Tenerife
BLEND: 95% Listan Prieto, 5% Tintilla
WINEMAKER: Roberto Santana
VINEYARD: The fruit for the Benje wines comes from vineyards in Santiago del Teide, high on the northwestern volcanic slopes of Tenerife. Altitude is around 1,000 metres. The climate is Atlantic with an average rainfall of 550 mm. This enables grapes to ripen to moderate alcohol levels while retaining freshness and good acidity.
VITICULTURE: Viticulture is organic. The soil is worked by hand without using any kind of chemicals. The vines are free-standing, completely untrained. The main challenges to viticulture are winds from the Atlantic and Africa and fluctuations in humidity. Harvesting is done by hand.
WINEMAKING: Each parcel is vinified separately, in a mix of concrete tanks and open tubs. Maceration is 10-20 days (depending on parcel) with daily punching down. It’s then pressed into old French barriques to undergo MLF. The wine is aged for 8 months in the same barrels on the fine lees. No battonage or sulfur is used. It is bottled unfiltered.
TASTING NOTES: A pure and vertical expression of high altitude
volcanic terruño. Red and black fruits, lilac and
pepper on the nose, following through to a fresh
and grippy palate.
Envínate ‘Benje’ Tinto 2021
R400.00
Only 5 left in stock
“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.”
