Envinate 'Taganan - Margalagua' Tinto

Envinate 'Taganan - Margalagua' TintoParcela Margalagua is an ancient vineyard planted on the north eastern corner of Tenerife, near the town of Taganana. The vines here weave over and under the soil as branches have been weighed down and buried as a means of grafting in the phylloxera free island soil, meaning it's almost impossible to determine vine ages or even determine where a single vine begins or ends. The branches above the ground are propped up only by "Y" shaped sticks, which

Parcela Margalagua is an ancient vineyard planted on the north eastern corner of Tenerife, near the town of Taganana. The vines here weave over and under the soil as branches have been weighed down and buried as a means of grafting in the phylloxera free island soil, meaning it's almost impossible to determine vine ages or even determine where a single vine begins or ends. The branches above the ground are propped up only by "Y" shaped sticks, which have an unfortunately tendency to fall over in heavy wind. Quite frankly Margalagua is a vineyard unlike anything we have ever seen before, in a way it's a glimpse into what viticulture may have looked like if phylloxera never existed and that adds to the sense that the Canary Islands are part of some parrellel universe of the wine world - a Jurrasic Park for varietals, styles, viticulture that long ago died out in the rest of Spain. It's too hard to talk about varietals, I could name some of them but it doesn't help to understand the wine, it's suffice to say that there's probably twelve or thirteen different ones going into this wine. As for what it tastes like, for that i'll quote directly from Luis Gutierrez, he's a Spanish journalist so he's more impartial than I am... "If the village was impressive, the one sourced from a specific plot was other worldly... There is more depth and complexity than in the village reed, a tantalizing mixture of peppers and stones, with a herbal touch, aromatic and changing the glass. It shows great elegance and it's more insinuating. The palate has a silky texture, with great acidity and length. it ends with a strong sensation, marine, almost salt."