Bodegas Ribas
We could talk about our winery of the year, Bodega Ribas on Mallorca, all day long. But it's best to see and read for yourself! We sent wine journalist Britta Wiegelmann and cameraman Felix Groteloh to experience the winery and the family at first hand. Araceli and Javier Servera Ribas, the brother and sister team behind the wines, tell us how the oldest existing winery on the island survived phylloxera, why they love their local grape, the Mantonegro, so much and what the sea has to do with it all.
For 300 years, the Ribas winery in Consell, a village of 4000 people just a stone's throw from Palma, has been cultivating a real treasure: ancient indigenous grape varieties such as Mantonegro, Gargollassa, Callet, Prensal blanc and the rare Giró Ros. These grapes can only be found here – and who could offer them a better home than the oldest bodega still in existence on the island? Pedro Ribas planted the first vines in 1711, and today the vineyards cover 40 hectares at around 150 metres above sea level with sandy and calcareous, sometimes very stony soils that are cultivated organically.
White wines from Bodegas Ribas
Rosé wines from Bodegas Ribas
Red wines from Bodegas Ribas
from Bodegas Ribas
The winery is run by siblings Xavier and Araceli Ribas under the watchful eye of their mother María Antonia Oliver. Araceli trained with Bob Levi from the world-famous Harlan Estate in Napa Valley and with René Barbier, one of the great pioneers of the Priory. Xavier gained experience in France and New Zealand. For the two of them, there was never any question as to whether they would take over the family business: «The answer was always yes.»
The siblings are particularly passionate about the Mantonegro grape. They work tirelessly to improve it through selection. It is not easy to tame. The ripeness is uneven, so the harvest takes a long time. The oldest vines are over 80 years old. But with strict yield regulation, as practised by Araceli and Javier, it produces wonderfully independent, highly elegant wines. «We love them like you love your child», say the siblings.
Mantonegro shines on its own, but is also a team player: when blended with varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Syrah, it produces exceptional cuvées with precision and class, structure and character. And: the grape produces fantastic rosés! In short, the vineyards of Mallorca are a real treasure trove. And there is no better place to discover the local varieties than at Ribas. Whatever the colour, you can feel the Mediterranean charm. A holiday in a glass!
Producer
Roland und Karin Lenz
In 1994, while Roland Lenz was still studying oenology, he and his wife Karin were able to acquire eight hectares of vines on the Iselisberg. It was a unique opportunity that they seized, even though they were toying with the idea of setting up their own business abroad, far from Switzerland. They actually did so later, but that's another story…
Dirk van der Niepoort
Dirk van der Niepoort - great ambassador of the fantastic wines from the Douro Valley, is also active and creative in other Portuguese wine regions. His dream has long been to make wines in the microclimates of the Alentejo and Dãoos. The talented self-made winemaker, who likes to wear a hat, found what he was looking for and his crazy idea in these crazy times took shape in the form of Crazy Hatter wines.
Park
For many years Baur au Lac Wines has been Switzerland's exclusive importer of the sumptuous Cognacs created by Dominic Park. The story goes back to the 1990s when Dominic Park decided to leave his job as a wine trader in London to create his own cognac house with the style he wanted. This is summed up by a very clean vision of what cognac should be: insist on the best origins and a very precise distillation and ageing to give a high-class product in a modern, elegant bottle.