2015 Envínate Lousas Parcela Camiño Novo

BY NEAL MARTIN | JULY 15, 2024

During the Burgfest tasting, we tend to diversify our drinking habits at dinners as members proffer bottles from their cellars. One of the best was the 2015 Lousas Parcela Camiño Novo from Envínate, which translates as “wine yourself”. The winery was co-founded by university friends Laura Ramos, Jose Martínez, Roberto Santana and Alfonso Torrente with their aim of focusing on single vineyard sites from different Spanish regions and applying non-interventionalist techniques. This cuvée comes from one of my favorite regions, Ribeira Sacra, mainly Mencía with some Alicante Bouschet, 100% whole bunch fermented and matured for 12 months in 500-liter used oak barrels. Even with several years on the clock, the bouquet is still very youthful, with crushed strawberry, raspberry, slate and subtle wilted rose petal aromas gaining intensity as it opens in the glass. The palate has exquisite balance, pliant tannins and impressive weight. Maybe because I was drinking it in Burgundy, I saw some stylistic comparisons with Pinot Noir in terms of its core of mineralité, yet with a little more sweetness on the finish. I was deeply impressed. This slow-maturing Mencía will offer another 15 years of drinking pleasure. 93/Drink 2024-2039.

© 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.