Wines
Summary
Tomeu Llabrés founded his micro-winery, Ca’n Verdura, in a former auto garage at the center of the ancient village of Binissalem, located in the north-central portion of Mallorca. Tomeu obtained his oenology degree in Tarragona and later gained valuable practical experience under Álvaro Palacios in Priorat and when he returned to the island, worked with bigger house names like 4 Kilos, Anima Negra, and Son Campaner. At the same time, he explored his own viticultural ideas at night, and began his visionary work with the indigenous mantonegro grape. Through a steadfast focus on the mantonegro grape, Tomeu has demonstrated that this ancient varietal has incredible potential, creating some of the Balearic region’s most ground-breaking wines.
Tomeu’s ancestral origins can be traced back at least six generations. His family cultivated Binissalem vineyards for “possessions” (large agricultural farms), in traditional vineyards of mixed agriculture where grapes share space with other traditional crops such as apricot, almond, and olive trees. This is the type of polyculture that is traditional in Mallorca, and is a practice favored by Tomeu.
Following this tradition, Ca’n Verdura focuses on old-vine vineyards planted in the traditional en vaso (or goblet) vine training system, with reliance on the indigenous mantonegro and callet for red wines and moll (prensal blanc) for the white wines of Binissalem. Like other small projects on the island, international varieties are relied upon in small quantities for practical reasons in entry-level blends. Still, the future of plantings is clearly indigenous varieties. The soil of Binissalem is cal vermell, red clay soil with limestone, and small to medium-sized galets.
Tomeu obtained his oenology degree in Tarragona and later gained valuable practical experience under Álvaro Palacios in Priorat, as well as when he returned to the island working with bigger house names like 4 Kilos, Anima Negra, and Son Campaner, while he explored his ideas at night which would someday become Ca’n Verdura.
