In
the Miquel Oliver winery, we are working with the conviction that
a great wine can only be made on the basis of the best vineyards.
Vinyes I
Bodegas Miquel Oliver has 12 ha of vineyards in the municipality
of Petra in the heart of the Pla I Llevant de Mallorca Domination
of Origin area.
These vineyards
enjoy an enviable location, with a typically Mediterranean climate
of slightly cold winters and dry hot summers, an average temperature
of 16º and an average rainfall of between 450 and 500 l/m2.
The
composition of the soil, which has a heavy clay texture, is the
optimum one for the preparation of wines for aging. The earth
is reddish in colour from the iron oxide (which is why the vineyard
is called Ses Ferritges) with a very low content of organic matter,
which limits the yield in a natural way.
We grow wines
with scrupulous respect for the environment, so that the use of
herbicides is replaced by mechanical and manual means, and traditional
manual cultivation methods are given priority (disbudding, removing
leaves and excessive growth occasioned by exceptional circumstances),
methods that have been abandoned in most regions for their high
cost. We maintain them, convinced it improves the quality of the
grape.
The
grapes are grown on removable trellises which enables us to handle
the plants appropriately by optimising the microclimate in the
interior of the plants, taking maximum advantage of the many hours
of sunshine we have in Mallorca, and by controlling the humidity
of leaves and roots which permits us to considerably reduce phytosanitary
treatment.
In
extremely dry years, we employ a drip watering system, which provides
the exact amount of water when necessary, in order to achieve
our aim of increasing the phenolic maturity of the grape cluster
but without increasing its quantity.
We have arrangements
with vineyards in the municipalities of Felanitx, Manacor, Sineu
and Montuiri to supplement our grape supply. These vineyards are
monitored at all times by staff from the bodega and, generally,
they are the same viticulturists as those working in our own vineyards.
In
making our wines, we use the indigenous red varieties Callet,
Fogoneu and Manto Negro and the white Prensal. We also make our
wines from international varieties such as Melort, Cabernet Sauvignon,
Tempranillo, Syrah, Moscatel and Macabeo.