Illes Balears

Styles

Terroir

• Brown or reddish soils, rich in calcareous sediments and silica sands, with an alkaline pH between 8.1 and 8.8.
• Mediterranean climate with a mean annual temperature of ~17 °C, a thermal amplitude of ~13 °C, and exceptional frost events.
• An average of 2,800 sunshine hours per year; summer insolation and dryness promote ripening and the concentration of polyphenols.
• No permanent watercourses; water flows through seasonal torrents and groundwater is the principal water resource.
• Harvest begins in the first weeks of August, brought forward by high summer temperatures and insolation.

• Viticultural activity dating from the 7th century BC (Phoenicians); in the 1st century AD Pliny compared Balearic wines to the finest of Italy.
• From 1910, the enological station at Felanitx modernized viticulture and winemaking; in the 1990s the technological renewal of wineries marked a turning point.

• Clean, fruity aromas, body, and balance define the organoleptic character of the wine, together with alcoholic richness and low volatile acidity.
• Summer water stress produces musts with a high concentration of polyphenols, yielding wines with intense color, roundness, and body.

• Summer water stress concentrates polyphenols: musts from Balearic Merlot and Moscatel surpass those from other Iberian regions in polyphenol content.

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the the specification.

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-ES-A0947
• Official trade body site — IQUA — Vi de la Terra Illes Balears