If you like wine, you will find paradise in Mallorca. The oenotourism, one of the best things to do on the island, has become very fashionable in recent years; therefore, knowing the Mallorcan wines, through a good wine tasting is something that, if you are a lover of this discipline, you can’t skip if you finally decide to travel to Mallorca.
Mallorca’s Mediterranean climate is a determining factor in producing a series of wines that year after year are gaining in reputation and prizes in competitions held outside the Balearic Islands.
In this article we want you to become familiar with the different Mallorca wine, so we will now give you an overview and a classification of the Mallorca wine according to their:
- Designation of origin
- Typology
- Type of grape
- Geographical location
Mallorcan wines according to their designation of origin
D.O Pla i Llevant
The wines with DO Pla i Llevant are excellent wines to accompany a meal, as a starter or with a tapa of olives and cheese as they are usually served in the many wine tasting that take place in all the wineries that exist in Mallorca.
This designation of origin was founded in 1999 and there are currently 13 wineries and 70 winegrowers registered, with a total of 444 hectares in Mallorca. The wines of D.O. Pla i Llevant have the particularity that they grow at sea level, thus benefiting from the caresses of the sea breeze, more so those of Llevant than those of Pla.
The The area of Mallorca that includes this designation of origin is an area with a long winemaking tradition distributed in 19 municipalities of the interior, centre and east of the island: Algaida, Ariany, Artà, Campos, Capdepera, Felanitx, Llucmajor, Manacor, Maria de la Salut, Montuïri, Muro, Petra, Porreres, Sant Joan, Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, located in the area of Cala Millor; Santa Margalida, Santanyí, Sineu and Vilafranca de Bonany.
D.O Binissalem
This wine-growing region, D.O. Binissalem, was founded in 1990 and is located in the centre of the island with its vineyards between 75 and 200 metres above sea level.
The towns that make up this wine-producing region are: Santa Maria del Camí, Binissalem, Sencelles, Consell and Santa Eugenia with a total of 140 hectares of vineyards and 13 wineries. These villages have the geographical characteristics of gentle relief and are protected from the cold winds of the Tramuntana.
Among the Binissalem D.O. wines we can find young wines or wines aged in oak barrels, whites, rosés and sparkling wines. The most famous and most produced are the reds that contain 30% of the grape called Manto Negro, with typical characteristics of this native variety such as its not excessively intense colour and fruity aromas.
Meanwhile, the white wines of D.O. Binissalem are made with at least 50% of the grape variety Moll. Fruity aromas predominate here, especially apple and dried fruits, apricot and bitter almonds. In the mouth they tend to be fresh, finding the perfect balance between sweet and sour with a slightly bitter finish.
Something not to be missed is the Wine days Mallorca event, which is 9 days in May combining wine drinking with the organisation of gastronomic and cultural experiences.
Wines of Mallorca according to their typology
D.O Pla i Llevant
Within this designation of origin, the most important ones are:
- White wine made from Chardonnay grapes, fermented in wooden barrels. As a result, we obtain wines with lactic, vanilla and tropical fruit aromas. With grapes of the varieties Prensal Blanco, Macabeo and Parellada we obtain the dry Muscatel wines of Mallorca. By combining these varieties we obtain a set of aromas that are very fresh on the palate.
- The red wine from this designation of origin usually produces wines with intense colours and complex fruit aromas, with soft tannins and a very pleasant freshness on the palate.
D.O Binissalem
Manto Negro, Moll and Muscatel varieties are the main grapes used to make Binissalem D.O. wines.
- White wine. The Moll grape is the standard-bearer of this type of wine, as it provides values that wine lovers know well how to differentiate: fruit aromas, especially green apple as the most predominant fruit; and dried fruits such as apricot and bitter almonds. These wines are fresh on the palate, and balanced in terms of acidity, sweetness and bitterness.
- Red wine. Here the wine par excellence is Manto Negro. These wines are not very intense in colour, but they are well structured and harmonious, with soft tannins and tertiary aromas.
Types of grapes according to the designations of origin of Mallorca
The types of grapes authorised by the regulatory councils of each designation of origin are as follows:
White grape
- DO Pla i Llevant and DO Binissalem: Chardonnay, Muscatel of grano menudo, Moscatel de Alejandría, Parellada, Giró Ros and Premsal Blanco or Moll.
- DO Pla i Llevant: Riesling and Viognier.
Red grape
- DO Pla i Llevant and DO Binissalem: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Monastrell, Syrah, Tempranillo, Callet, Mantonegro, Gorgollasa and Macabeo.
- DO Pla i Llevant: Pinot noir and Fogoneu.
Mallorca wine according to their geographical location
There is another type of classification of Mallorcan wine with more romantic names than the usual and tough classification proposed by the D.O. (denomination of origin) of the wines.
Vino de la Tierra de Mallorca (Mallorcan Regional Wine)
These are purely Mallorcan wines as they are made with Mallorcan grapes and bottled in the area where they are produced.
They are quite pure and clean wines, with characteristics that are very easy to distinguish by the grape from which they come.
The most commonly used types of grapes are:
- Red grapes. They are pale pink to orange, shiny and transparent. It has a powerful aroma, rich in tannins; on the palate it has a round and full-bodied flavour. The grapes used are Callet, Manto Negro or Fogoneu, among others.
- White grapes. They are aromatic and light yellow to golden, floral and fruity made from grapes such as Prensal, Chardonnay, Macabeo or Malvasia.
Vino de la Tierra Serra de Tramuntana-Costa Nord (Serra de Tramuntana-Costa Nord Regional Wine)
I think you already know the Sierra de Tramuntana, but if not, it is the mountain range that protects us from the strong winds that come from France, and give rise to the name of our mountain range. This geographical area stretches from Andratx to Pollença.
In this difficult terrain a grape is grown, the Malvasía, which produces a dry white wine. This grape is a very special grape as it is grown on terraces by the sea, where the saline environment is predominant thanks to the sea breeze.
The red wine produced in the Sierra de Tramuntana usually comes from noble grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. These wines tend to have an intense colour and fragrant aromas reminiscent of plum and ripe cherry.
Vino de la Tierra Illes Balears (Illes Balears Regional Wine)
These wines, as their name suggests, are produced entirely in the Balearic Islands and use different types of grapes:
- White wine: Chardonnay, Viognier or Parellada
- Red grape: Tempranillo, Fogoneu or Pinot Noir
So much for our article on the different wines of Mallorca, what do you think of this way of classifying the Mallorca wine, do you dare to try one, or have you already tried one? Tell us about it!
