28 August 2023, Mallorca, Spain
We visited a Mallorcan winery last week for a pre-arranged tour and tastings.
4Kilos Wines, established in 2006, comprises 45 acres of vines across a variety of soils, on the outskirts of Felanitx.
We were led through the vines, the winery and the wines by the most brilliant guide: a young man named Toni, who at 23 years of age already possesses a fabulous and generous understanding of the industry in which he hopes to spend his life.
4Kilos – named after the price the current owners paid for the winery, almost 20 years ago ($40K AUD) – has spearheaded the trend in this part of the island towards lighter, more aromatic, terroir-driven wines.
The vineyard includes limited plantings of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon (for use in blended wines), but the focus is firmly on indigenous varieties. My favourite of these? Callet.
In the vineyard, Callet is a thick-skinned, late-ripening, high-yielding red grape varietal that retains acidity while achieving phenolic ripeness.
Despite its deep colour, Callet contributes to wines with soft tannins and relatively low alcohol (11 per cent, for example).
Often, Callet is used to make light-bodied red wines that are blended with more robust varieties. But it works, too, as a fresh and fragrant stand-alone variety, with juicy red fruit flavours, a touch of anise and a hint of white pepper.
The wines of Mallorca are among the most fascinating and exciting wines that I’ve been lucky enough to try on this trip through Portugal and Spain; they deserve a wider audience.
We said farewell to Toni and drove from the vineyard down an unsealed road: a selection of wines in the boot; our heads still buzzing with the things we learned.
This article, one entry from a larger Travel Diary 2023
