Envinate Benje Blanco 2025

2023 / 94 puntos

The white 2023 Benje Blanco, fermented without temperature control since 2021, matured in a 2,500-liter oak foudre and neutral 350-liter barrel, while 65% of the wine was kept in concrete. They also selected finer lees for the élevage, and the wine seems to have gained in finesse. The white grapes didn't suffer the heat as much as the red ones, but it was not an easy harvest in Santiago del Teide. There's less oxidation, and the percentage of wine with flor yeasts (25% to 30%) made for finer wines too. There's a sensation of higher freshness, sharper; it didn't go through malolactic. It's also less reductive, and despite being a riper year, the alcohol was kept to 12% and the pH 3.06. It's a great Benje Blanco. 19,000 bottles and 220 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2023.