Envinate 2021 Tenerife Migan Tinto

The vineyards for this cuvée are located near La Perdoma in the north-central part of Tenerife. Migan is in fact an old name for the town of La Perdoma. This is 100% Listán Negro, from four parcels in the Valle de la Orotava that are over 100 years old and planted on volcanic soils with substantial amounts of clay, sand and basalt. There is some stem inclusion here. Fermentation is in concrete, and aging is for one year in neutral French oak and foudre. Bottling is without fining or filtering, and with just a touch of sulfur. -BF

Starting with the 2021 vintage, Migan is now a wine that will be held back, released a year later than other Canary wines from Envinate, when it is more "ready to drink." The folks at Envinate feel that the character of the wine deserves an extra year before release, which allows a mellowing of any sharp angles, and a less pronounced reduction that is associated with Orotava wines.... We think this was a great idea, and the proof is in the bottle! The 2021 is probably the first vintage in memory that was this open and pretty on arrival to the US, with more floral and red fruit aromas jumping out, and a noted subtlety of any reductive notes. This will undeniably improve with more time in bottle, but it is charming now too!