Self Isolation : Day # 26
2016 Envínate ‘Táganan’ Tinto
The so-called ‘Island Wines’ are one of the great topics of conversation amongst wine groups. The term can refer to the classic ice-breaker question, “If you were stuck on a desert island and only had one wine…” or to wines that come from either volcanic archipelagos or Mediterranean islands. The latter is somewhat of a vague category but I like to think of island wines as always having at least one of the following:
the structure that comes with volcanic soils
aromas and/or flavors of salinity, a refreshing quality - usually from higher acidity
influenced by strong winds that help mitigate the effects of relentless sunshine
The best are a combination of more than one of the preceding, often made with indigenous grape varieties. Most of these islands are relatively small and typically find themselves under the rule of a European wine-producing country. As with anything pertaining to wine, however, there are exceptions.
The Canary Islands, roughly sixty-two miles off the coast of Morocco but belonging to Spain, are an archipelago made up of eight main islands. While Tenerife is the largest and home to most of the limited plantings, with a diverse array of micro-climates depending on their elevation and location relative to the island’s towering volcano, the neighboring island of Lanzarote is the most striking. Entirely volcanic with an otherworldly landscape devoid of vegetation, the vines there are given their own pit to grow in with a small, semi-circular windbreak on their windward side; it’s as if the island is covered in neat rows of little bomb craters.
The 2016 ‘Táganan’ is named for an old wine-growing region on the northeast side of Tenerife where the grapes are grown. The vines here were planted long ago in the natural openings along the tops of the sheer cliffs that drop hundreds of feet down into the rough Atlantic ocean. The vineyards are extremely rugged here, making farming the mixed plantings of traditional grape varieties a challenge and requiring the use of animals for most tasks. Today they are tended to by the four members of one of ‘New Spain’s’ most exciting winemaking teams: Envínate. Focusing primarily on the Atlantic-influenced vineyards of Spain’s coastline, their wines are lively and bright, always conveying a sense of place. ‘Táganan’ is just that, displaying notes of fresh red berries and tart purple fruit crushed over sun-baked volcanic rocks with salty, floral grace notes and a backbone of mouthwatering acidity and ripe tannins. Best enjoyed slightly chilled, stranded on a Caribbean beach without a care in the world.