When evaluating a wine, the choice of grape variety is perhaps of secondary concern. One distinguishes the primary aroma of the grape variety from the secondary aroma, which depends on the type of soil on which the vines grew. Often it is not the choice of the grape varieties that makes a wine taste the way it does, but rather where those grapes are grown, the microclimatic conditions in that particular location and the type of soil makeup giving nourishment to the vines.

At Son Alegre, we cultivate 15 hectares of vines on two sites, one on the edge of Santanyí in the area between Son Danus and Ses Angoixes, and the other in the nearby area of Can Taconer on the outskirts of Calonge. Both vineyards benefit from the Serra de Llevant’s moderating impact on climate as well as from the thermal conditions of the coastal area, at 7 km from the Mediterranean Sea to the South-East and 12 km distant from the West.

The particular meteorological conditions of our land effectively present us with average temperatures of one to two degrees Celsius lower than comparative terrains further inland. This is due to cooler air coming in from the sea, a phenomenon known locally as s’Embat. This cool current of air is created by meeting with warmer air, heated up from the land warmed up by the high temperatures of the sun and thus regularly creating a fresh breeze of air during the hot afternoon hours of summer.

Another shared aspect of the terroir at both of our sites is the Call Vermell soil, a clay loam formation containing plenty of iron oxide and lime. Our land is also interspersed with plenty of stones, characteristically preserving humidity that little bit longer than soil of a different makeup.

Wine growing for us is an on-going opportunity to accommodate our fascination with the wonderful complexity of the natural world. We employ classic methods of hands-on viticulture and oenology by practising only hand-harvesting, traditional basket press production, indigenous wild yeast fermentation, and fine French oak barriques for aging.