The WineFirst, the wine name - "Ca de Rosetes" - is the nickname for the winemaker's maternal side of his family. It is a new wine from a 60+ year-old, 3.5-acre vineyard on the island of Mallorca planted to a very obscure varietal, the Giró Ros. It's one of Mallorca's nearly extinct, indigenous varieties recovered at the beginning of the 21st century. It shows great promise and an uncanny ability to improve in bottle.
The 2019 vintage was very dry, reducing yields to 70% less than average, producikng bolder, more concentrated wines with exceptional balance. Considered an excellent year (for quality, not quanitiy) across the island and one of the best of the decade for wines built to age. Following a manual harvest in small boxes (to avoid breaking skins prior to arrival at the winery), alcoholic fermentation occurred in large, 500L French oak barrels, 50% of which were new.
Only native yeasts were used in fermentation and the temperature was not controlled, the barrels heating up as the fermentation progressed. The wine was aged in the same 500L barrels for eight months prior to bottling without fining/filtering. Drink now through 2029.
The Region
In case your geography is a bit rusty, Mallorca is an island off the East coast of Spain, about half way between Taragona and Italy's Sardinia. Like so many beautiful winegrowing regions in the world, the island has been overwhelmed by tourists for the past several decades - 14 million a year! Amidst this sea of well-heeled tourists, the island was at risk of losing its cultural heritage, but became home to a growing number of wineries, most wineries of which planted perfectly-tended rows of international varieties that appealed to tourists more than the global wine lover.
The cost of vineyard property soared, as it has in Napa, Sonoma and other areas that have been at once blessed and cursed with intense tourist traffic. But Mallorca's new generation of farmers, chefs and winegrowers have been meticulously cataloging, replanting and reviving the islands pre-tourist traditions, including polyculture farming. Both culturally relevant and gastronomically compelling.
The Winery
Into this mix steps Tomeau Llabrés, who earned his oenology degree on the mainland, then worked for Álvaro Palacios in Priorat before returning to Mallorca to work for some of the bigger names (4 Kilos, Anima Negra and Son Campaner). He launched Ca'n Verdura (kahn vehr-doo-rah) in 2012, taking over a repurposed auto shop as his production hub - a TRUE garagiste. His guiding philosphy is in synch with today's global demand for "natural" wines - a rather fuzzy term he defines as "handmade, without additions, subtractions or corrections". The future of Mallorcan winemaking appears to be in good hands.
