Bordeaux By Way Of Mallorca

One winery in the Balearic Islands off eastern Spain is breaking the norm by bringing its bottles out of its home ground. MARIE BARBÉ, Bodega Son Mayol’s Technical Director, gives Crystal Lee an inside look at the nascent Mallorcan label.

- Crystal Lee

Mallorca is to Europe what Bali is to this part of the world: a well-loved, sun-splashed island getaway that offers gorgeous beaches, breathtaking resorts, excellent dining, a dynamic local culture and plenty of nature.

A long-time favourite for Europeans, the largest of the Spanish Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean has, for generations, played host to the rich and famous including Chopin, DH Lawrence, Anaïs Nin, Richard Branson, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Princess Diana, Kate Moss, Mick Jagger – the list goes on.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mallorca also makes some exceptional wines. Vine cultivation on the island began as early as 121BC. Pliny the Elder wrote in Natural History that Mallorcan wines were as good as the best wines in Italy. Then phylloxera (a vine-eating louse), wars, and a shift from agriculture to tourism happened, diminishing vines along the way. Today, there are some 70 winemakers in Mallorca. Many are small, and work with native grapes like manto negro, prensal blanc or fogoneu. Some blend them with cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah. Most of their bottles are consumed locally and by tourists.

Wines from Mallorca are rarely exported to Asia, but Bodega Son Mayol – also one of the very few producers in the region to focus solely on international varieties – has its sights set on the world. In Singapore, its wines are available through Bottles & Bottles retail and online shops, KrisShop Online and iShopChangi.