Manto Negro

Spain’s first offshore Denominacion de Origen was granted on 12th February 1991, creating the DO Binssalem. Situated north of Palma on a gently rolling plain east of the centre of the island’s central plateau at between 250 and 300 metres, DO Binssalem has approximately 612 hectares of vines, 80% of which are red.

Macia Batle are considered one of the island’s best quality mainstream wineries working with 140 hectares of vines, 100 of which they own. Macia Batle did however leave the DO Binssalem a few years ago, instead preferring to use the more flexible DO Vi de la Terra Mallorca for all their wines.

Macia Batle Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Vi de la Terra, 14% Abv.

4th vintage of Sauvignon Blanc. Lift floral exuberant aromas of white peach, honeysuckle, greengage and waxy green apples. Palate is full and fleshy with bold flavours of green melon, spiced apples and pear purée. A powerful rendition in a warm climate style fattened up with a long glycerol finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 87/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Margalida Llompart Blanco 2016, Vi de la Terra, 13.5 Abv.

50% Pansell and 50% Chardonnay aged 7 months in French oak. A pronounced, piquant nose delivers a real melange of green fruits, caramelised fig, green apple, nectarine and sweet yellow grapefruit confit with a slick touch of vanilla pod and creamy oak spice. Palate is bold and fresh but also broad and powerful with the personality of a new world style Chardonnay with hints of fig, peach, green melon and spicy, fleshy green apple. Punchy style but also quite distinguished.

(Wine Safari Score: 88+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Margalida Llompart Blanco 2017, Vi de la Terra, 14 Abv.

Can, Manto Negro and Merlot. Made in 100% large amphora. Rich, textured but a overly back palate zip of freshness and red berry pithy spice. Fine dried herbal notes mix with a delicate melange of red berry forest fruits. Plenty of glycerol weight, gravelly minerality and a long round finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 89/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Macia Batle Maceracio Carbonica Negre 2017, Mantonegro, Vi de la Terra Mallorca, 14 Abv.

100% Manto Negro, this is the earliest release wine in the range made to be served chilled. Nose shows a piercing aroma of strawberry confit, raspberry coulis and strawberry pips. Ripe, bright and bursting with opulent fruits with an attractive palate layered with strawberry, red apple and a chalky, gravelly, stony pithy underlay. Unpretentious, this is made for warm weather summer easy drinking.

(Wine Safari Score: 87+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Macia Batle Anada 2017, Vi de la Terra Mallorca, 14 Abv.

A blend of Manto Negro, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, the wine is aged for 2 months in barrique. Initially there are earthy red fruits, forest berries and bramble berry spice that also reveals subtle savoury, peppery Syrah notes. Palate is creamy and spicy with oak spice, bramble berry, black plum, raspberry confit and a tart, fresh, juicy finish. A few levels more serious and more structured so perfectly suited to light tapas dining and can still be served nicely chilled without bringing out any tannic bitterness.

(Wine Safari Score: 88/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Macia Batle 1856 2015, Vi de la Terra Mallorca, 14 Abv.

A blend of Manto Negro, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Callet aged 12 months in French oak and 12 months in bottle. Palate shows wonderful freshness and purity of fruit with very fine blend integration. Sleek and precise, there is a very polished texture and a finely tuned melange of bright red berries, raspberries, logan berry, red plum and bramble berry sappy spice. Lovely cool balance, creamy spicy tannins and a long harmonious finish. This is an impressive Crianza style wine.

(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Margalida Llompart Tinto 2015, Vi de la Terra, 14 Abv.

A blend of Manto Negro, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah aged 18 months in French oak but not in bottle before release. A serious, rich, plush nose of liquorice stick, black cherry, black currant and stewed black plums laced wth a vanilla pod spice dusting, piquant peppery notes and and creamy red berry opulence. A classy, distinguished red that carries its 14 Abv extremely well and shows wonderful balance and harmony. The tannins are mineral and drying with fine powdery grip and cry out for local cuisine to match. Very well made red with plenty of attention to detail.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Macia Batle Colleccio Privada 2013, Vi de la Terra Mallorca, 14 Abv.

A blend of 35% Manto Negro, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot aged in 100% new French barriques for 18 months followed by another 18 months ageing in bottle. A piercing nose of cassis, saline black currant, black berry reduction and black salty liquorice. There is a lovely mineral underlay that tempers the fruit concentration and intensity, lending notes of crushed gravel and limestone. The palate shows an impressively supple, sleek, fine boned structure with great elegance, acid freshness, finessed texture and a powdery harmonious tannin finish. This is actually very impressive.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Macia Batle Colleccio Privada 2014, Vi de la Terra Mallorca, 14.5 Abv.

A blend of 30% Manto Negro, Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 18 months in new French oak and 18 months in bottle. A slightly more subdued nose but shows plenty of saline black currant, hints of black berry reduction, sappy forest fruits and a subtle kiss of salty liquorice. The palate is bright and fresh, energetic and sweet fruited with impressive plummy medley of logan berry, mulberry and creamy raspberry berry fruits. texturally, this has all the elegance and structural finesse you would hope for from a wine aged at least 3 years before release. Very classy, well balance and suitably proportioned.

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Spain’s first offshore Denominació d’Origen was granted on 12th February 1991, creating the DO Binssalem according to the Mallorcan spelling. In 1996 there were 4 major wineries operating on the island, the biggest of which was primarily responsible for all the lobbying to create the DO to assist with selling to international export markets. There are now two official DO’s on the island, the other ‘Denominació d’Origen’ being Pla i Llevant which is situated in central and eastern Mallorca around the towns of Manacor and Felanitx.

Situated north of Palma on a gently rolling plain east of the centre of the island’s central plateau at between 250 and 300 metres, DO Binssalem with 612 hectares of vines 80% of which are red, tends to have lightweight soils low in nutrients with plenty of limestone over clay, providing good water retention in the warm summer months and pretty much ideal vine growing conditions in this Mediterranean-maritime climate. Summers are hot and winters are mild with the altitude helping to lower temperatures slightly during ripening when summer temperatures can hit 30 to 35 degrees C with an all year round average of around 16 degrees C with 2,800 hours of sunshine and 500-600mm of rainfall per year which falls mainly in the Autumn.

Soils commonly seen in vineyards include red ferrous rich soils like these at 4 Kilos Vinicola near Felanitx, with high proportions of clay and limestone rocks.

There are a number of recommended grape varieties with one of the principle ones being Manto Negro, for which DO Binssalem red wines have to include at least 30%. It has partially been this legal rigidity combined with the fact that many of the top boutique wineries are now sourcing high quality old vine fruit from all over the island (and thus outside the DOs), that has led many producers to classify their wines to Vi de la Terra Mallorca instead allowing more ‘creative flexibility’ according to several winemakers I chatted to.

In reality, vines are grown all over inland Mallorca and most of the wines that fall outside the ‘Denominaciós d’Origen’ are grouped around three ‘Vi de la Terra’ labels. The largest one is ‘Vi de la Terra Mallorca’, followed by ‘Vi de la Terra Serra de Tramuntana-Costa Nord’ and ‘Vi de la Terra Illes Balears’.

Popular Wine Areas & Vineyards in Mallorca:

DO Binissalem

Bodegas Antonio Nadal, Bodegas José L. Ferrer, Celler Albaflor Vins Nadal, Celler Can Ramis, Vinya Taujana, Celler Sebastiá Pastor, Bodega Biniagual

DO Pla i Llevant

Finca Es Fangar, Bodegas Bordoy, Butxet Viticultors, Pere Seda Vinyes i Bodegues, Vi d’Auba, Miquel Oliver Vinyes i Bodegues, Armero i Adrover Vinicultors

Vi de la Terra Mallorca

Bodegas Angel, Bodega Ribas, Bodegues Macià Batle, Bodega Son Campaner, Castell Miquel, Jaume Mesquida, Celler Son Prim, Ca’n Vidalet, Es Verger, Anima Negra, 4 Kilos Vinicola and Bodegas Conde de Suyrot.

Indigenous red grape Callet often used for Rose, like this example from Bodegas Ribas.

Other commonly used permitted red varieties include Callet, Gorgollassa, Tempranillo and Monastrell while many reds classified as Vi de la Terra Mallorca utilise large proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah in conjunction with Manto Negro and Callet. For whites, commonly utilised permitted varieties include Moll (or Prensal), Giro ros, Moscatel, Parellada and Macabeo (Viura) aswell as non-traditional varieties including Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

From my recent travels around the island, the three most important native grape varieties in Mallorca are:

Callet
This black variety has a vigorous vine with long branches and thick leaves. It has low tannins and so tends to be low in alcohol. Traditionally, Callet was used to create young red and rosé wine but, recently, grapes from older vines have been used to blend with Cabernet or Manto Negro as it adds both complexity and spice, allowing the wine to be aged.

Manto Negro
Manto Negro is the most widely produced vine on Mallorca, especially around the Binissalem area. A black grape, it is medium-bodied and has aromas of cherry, caramel and lilac. It is used to produce light red wines on its own but is more often blended with other varietals such as Callet. It is rich in sugars and therefore alcohol content.

Moll (Prensal Blanc)
This white grape produces a light, floral white wine, pale yellow in colour. The wines are light and refreshing, perfect for a hot summer’s day. It’s fairly simple on its own and is often blended with Chardonnay to produce a more complex blend. It is also used to make sparkling wine.

So many people visit Mallorca every year and sadly rarely venture past the sun loungers around their swimming pools. But going out exploring and tasting Mallorca’s local wines is one of the best ways to experience the local Mallorcan culture, cuisine and scenery.