2024 Envinate - Garnacha Tintorera Albahra (750ml)

Envínate, meaning "wine yourself" in Spanish, was founded by four friends who met while studying enology in Alicante: Roberto Santana, Alfonso Torrente, Laura Ramos, and José Martínez. What began as a winemaking consultancy grew into a project scattered across Spain's edges, from the Atlantic-cooled valleys of Ribeira Sacra and the Canary Islands to sun-baked pockets of the Levante. The team favors old, forgotten vineyards and native varieties, working by hand with organic farming, wild yeasts, and minimal cellar intervention.

Albahra takes its name, meaning small sea, from a single vineyard split into parcels at 800 meters near Albacete, in the Almansa district at the southeastern edge of Castilla-La Mancha. The 2024 blends Garnacha Tintorera, a rare red-fleshed grape, with a smaller portion of Moravia Agria, an increasingly scarce local variety, both grown on chalky, clay-limestone soils by vines thirty to fifty years old. The Garnacha Tintorera is foot-trodden with a share of whole clusters, then rests on its lees in concrete for eight months, while the Moravia Agria ages separately in used French barrels before the two are blended, unfined and unfiltered.

The 2024 Albahra opens with sour cherry, rose, and a touch of menthol and lavender, layered over dried bramble and cracked pepper. Bright acidity and fine, sandy tannins keep the palate lifted and juicy, finishing clean and savory. Serve it slightly chilled with grilled lamb skewers, spiced chorizo, or a simple vegetable paella.