Son Prim Merlot 2021

Everyone knows the Balearic Islands are idyllic Mediterranean locations, but perhaps the fact that their wines are just as delightful may not be so widely known. This Son Prim Merlot offers a superb opportunity to experience an earthy, fresh and profound single varietal. It seems hard to explain why, but all the islands' wines prove fascinating, and they have an exotic touch that wins us over with complete ease. Early in the 1990s, Jaime Llabrés planted a small parcel with various grape varieties in order to study how they adapted to Majorcan soils. The results were surprising and the family gradually started getting involved in the project. In 2003 they began constructing a new winery close up to the vines and in 2004 the first bottles saw the light of day. The Merlot grapes grow on soils composed of red clay, gravel and pebbles. In the winery, long macerations are employed to obtain colour and aromas, clarifying agents are not used and filtration is kept to a minimum. All this meticulous care ensures that the Merlot grape's merits are very apparent in this Son Prim, with no sign of any of its weaknesses. We're presented with a wine that's rounded and pleasant, yet having a strong character; it's rustic without being aggressive, intense without being overwhelming. Black fruit conserve, a basket of cherries and black plums, firm but sweet tannins, bay, violets, black olives, woodland... If you've haven't tasted a wine from Mallorca before, Son Prim will steal your heart; it'll do so, even if you have.