The WineThis is the winery's premier red wine. It's made from a grape called Mantonegro which is indigenous to Mallorca. These vines were planted 60+ years ago and they look quite wild today, being managed with a technique called "bush training", which produces vines that look pretty much as you'd think - a sprawling gumdrop-shaped heap. The vineyards are considered the best on the island.
The wine is medium-bodied and fragrant, with enticing aromas of red fruit, wild strawberries/fresas, herbs and exotic spices. The wine is fermented in stainless steel at controlled temperatures that preserve the wine's delicate aromatics. It's then aged in massive oak barrels that soften the wine without imparting overpowering oak influences.
The 2019 vintage was very dry, reducing yields to 70% less than average, producing 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.
Drink now through 2030+
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 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.
