Balearic Islands Wine Regions Guide

Geography and terroir

Each of the four Balearic Islands – Mallorca, Ibiza, Formentera, and Menorca – continues to grow vines, although Mallorca is the only island with a sizable industry. Indeed, Ibiza produces only a small amount of wine, and Menorca has just 50 hectares given over to viticulture. The vineyards of Mallorca, Ibiza, and Menorca are some of the most picturesque in Spain; grapes ripen in a benign sub-tropical climate, and the landscape is spectacular. Vineyards cling to steep terraces on the island’s hills, while olive, almond, and citrus trees dot the fertile landscape with promiscuous abandon.

The largest of the Balearic Islands has two important DOs (appellations) to its name: Binissalem-Mallorca DO and Pla I Llevant DO. The oldest is Binissalem, established in 1991 and the first designation legally recognized outside the Spanish mainland.

Today, there are about 600 hectares under vine, located in the center of the island, northeast of the capital Palma de Mallorca. The terroir is generally conducive to quality grape growing: the Sierra de Alfaba mountain range to the north protects the vineyards from the intense winds and cold. The soils are predominantly poor in nutrients but rich in limestone and clay. The water-retentive properties of the lime soils allow the vines to cope with the often scorching summers in this maritime Mediterranean climate. Irrigation is sometimes employed as excess heat can be an issue, leading to hydric stress and poor ripening. Growers must also contend with violent fall downpours and sometimes hailstorms. However, despite these challenges, Binissalem remains the main source of Mallorca’s best wines.

Mallorca’s other key vine-growing region – Pla I Llevant – is located on the island’s southeastern part and enjoys a similar maritime Mediterranean climate as Binissalem further west. Yet the vineyards in the eastern part of Mallorca tend to be at lower altitudes, averaging just 100m above sea level, challenging winemakers who wish to keep their wines fresh and aromatic. About 260 hectares are planted on fertile limestone soils with high clay content and good drainage. The limestone’s water-retentive properties are essential to allow the vines to cope with the region’s hot, dry summers. There is also a smattering of vines on the west coast of Ibiza and small-scale viticulture in Formentera and Menorca. Once again, the Mediterranean climate ensures that full ripeness is not difficult to achieve, although controlling alcohol levels – and maintaining freshness – is a different matter.

The lowdown

In the 20th century, producers in Mallorca had very humble expectations of their wines. Viticulture was a small-scale, family business that supplied the island with drinkable – and occasionally rustic – white and red blends. In the peak season of July and August, tourists quaffed bottle after bottle of Viura in the midday sun. Yet few seriously considered making a play for the mainland – or even lucrative international markets. Mallorca seemed destined to reside in obscurity forever. A modest enterprise that shied away from becoming too ambitious for its own good.

However, attitudes are very different today. Buoyed by a rash of investments in new vineyards and modern bodegas, the outside world has developed a real interest in the island’s future. Hans Peter Schwarzkopf is one such wealthy entrepreneur responsible for founding the Can Axartell winery in Pollensa. Today over 60 hectares of organically managed vineyards yield delicious Petit Verdot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, and Merlot wines; pungent and spicy, they are now exported to several European markets and the Spanish mainland. In addition, Peter Eisenmann (another German investor) has revitalized the Es Fangar winery, raising the quality bar to unprecedented heights. Meanwhile, the owners of Sol Mayol have benefited greatly from the expertise of winemaker Patrick Leon – his alumni include Bordeaux First Growth Mouton Rothschild.

The net result has been an explosion in quality and rising global renown, with top labels now seen in restaurants across Northern Europe and the US. Judiciously planting a mixture of international and indigenous grapes, Mallorca’s producers are wisely catering to a broad audience. There has also been some investment in the vineyards of Menorca and Ibiza, although Mallorca remains the flag-bearer in this regard. But, more importantly, the next generation of winemakers, returning from trips abroad, are bringing a new sense of the importance of terroir. Today, they are utilizing their best sites to produce wines of real class and authenticity. A once glacial momentum has gone into revolutionary overdrive – and the best, we suspect, is yet to come.

Balearic Island gastronomy

Food is inevitably fresh, seasonal, and delicious in the Balearic Islands. Culinary traditions vary from island to island, although Catalunya’s influence is felt throughout; the combinations of sweet and savory flavors are a direct cultural hangover from the days of Catalan rule. Pork is the signature meat of Mallorca, while fresh seafood can be enjoyed in every town and village across the four islands. Menorca’s capital, Mao, lays claim to the invention of mayonnaise, which is often served with succulent fish and shellfish.

History

Unsurprisingly, the Romans first exploited the great potential for wine growing on these islands, although they only planted on Mallorca during their foray into the region. Vines were planted around 120 BC, and wine has been produced on this beautiful island ever since. The philosopher, Pliny the Elder, is reported to have compared the island’s wines to Italy’s finest in the first century AD. Local varieties thrived in the island’s Mediterranean climate, producing some of the Western Empire’s finest drops. Yet the Balearic Islands were plundered – or colonized – by several civilizations before the Romans arrived, including the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians. Nevertheless, historians believe that the Romans were the first conquerors to establish viticulture as a thriving industry in Mallorca.

However, after the Western Roman Empire collapsed in AD 476, Mallorca and its neighboring islands once again became a target for conquest and subjugation. The Visigoths, a Germanic tribe from northern Europe, controlled the Iberian Peninsula until the 8th century from their base in Toledo. But in 711, a Moorish general called Tariq ibn Ziyad spearheaded an invasion of southern Spain, aided by Berber and Arab mercenaries. Within a few years, the Moors arrived in the Balearic Islands, installing their culture and using scientific advancements, such as sophisticated irrigation techniques, to improve many aspects of daily life. Their rule and governance would endure for another five centuries; a Catalan-sponsored reconquest sent the Moors packing in the 13th century.

Before that event, Catalunya achieved independence from the Moors and its Frankish neighbors in the 1100s, after Ramon Berenguer IV married the heiress to the throne of Catalunya’s western neighbor Aragon. This created a powerful state that ejected the Moors from southern Catalunya in 1140. One of his successors, Jaume I, set his sights on retaking the Balearic Islands from the Moors in the 13th century. Using a fleet of ships from Barcelona, Tarragona, Marseilles, and other ports, Jaume I captured the Mallorcan capital in 1229.

Six years later, Ibiza and Formentera were in Christian hands. Yet the easternmost part of the Balearics, Menorca, was only conquered in 1287 after a series of bloody battles. Most of its residents were killed or enslaved – Menorca remained largely deserted throughout its occupation. Nevertheless, the western Mediterranean was once again a Christian province; trade between the Balearics and North Africa prospered in the 15th century, in addition to trade with the Levant and the mainland.

In the late 1400s, however, Catalunya (and the Balearics) effectively became part of the centralized Spanish state – the marriage between Isabel of Castile and Fernando of Aragon sealed the deal. Under Carlos I, the Balearics were united with the Habsburg empire; a series of ruinous wars drained the nation’s coffers and wasted most of the wealth accumulated from Spain’s colonies in the New World. In the 18th century, meanwhile, the aftermath of the War of the Spanish Succession resulted in Menorca being claimed by the British. Dark times indeed.

Nevertheless, Mallorca was relatively unaffected by the political turbulence of the 18th century, while tourism and agriculture – including winegrowing – became vital to the island’s economy. Sadly, the wine industry almost completely died after the arrival of the phylloxera louse in 1891. Before the advent of phylloxera in Europe, Mallorca was famed for its sweet Malmsey wine, produced from the ubiquitous Malvasia grape found across the Mediterranean. At the peak of the mid-19th century, the style was in great demand in northern Europe, especially in the UK, Germany, and Dutch markets. Sadly, this style has largely died out, as the prevailing trend for dryer styles means winemakers must adapt to cater to today’s wine drinkers’ tastes.

Fortunately, the islanders have been listening. Over the past 20 years, great changes have occurred in the Mallorcan wine industry. International varieties that were once non-existent now appear increasingly frequently across the island’s vineyards; fresher, more aromatic whites are now the mainstay of production here. Today the journey continues as producers target Western markets with a new breed of premium Balearic wine. Once ignored by connoisseurs, this collection of beautiful islands is going global.