Anima Negra

From the Mediterranean to the whole world - Mallorcan wines from Ànima Negra

In the southeast of the famous Mediterranean island of Mallorca, near Felanitx - more precisely in the old Son Burguera estate dating back to the 13th century - is the Ànima Negra winery. Already with the construction more than seven hundred years ago, premises for winemaking were created here, but originally with the intention of supplying wine to the people of the surrounding area. Viticulture in itself has survived the ages and today characterizes the landscape of this popular Spanish vacation island. 

Today, the wine industry is an important part of Mallorcan culture. Ànima Negra is dedicated to this tradition. The two childhood friends Pere Ignasi Obrador and Miquelàngel Cerdà, who grew up together in Felanitx, founded the winery in 1994. Since then, the winery's equipment has been constantly improved to export the in-house wines to over 40 countries worldwide in the meantime .Meanwhile, Ànima Negra is considered a cult winery.

Ànima Negra and the viticulture

Climate, soil and autochthonous grape varieties result in an incorruptible, unmistakable and personal characteristic of Mallorcan wines. Most of the approximately 150 micro-parcels of the Ànima Negra winery are located within a 10 km radius of the winery in Felanitx, except for the 5 vineyards located in the west of the island. The old vines of Callet, Mantonegro, Fogoneu, Premsal Blanc and Giró Ros varieties grow on a variety of soil types, interspersed with fruit trees such as apricot, pear, peach, plum and cherry trees. The vineyards are located near the forest and are oriented to make the best use of the sea wind.

At Ànima Negra, the grapes are harvested by hand and then selected manually and visually. Then, using the principle of gravity, the grapes are transported to the stainless steel and cement tanks.

During the subsequent aging, Son Negro's own vineyard yeasts are used. Over the years, a gene database has been created for this purpose, thus strengthening the typicity of the autochthonous, indigenous grape varieties.

Wines from Ànima Negra

ÀN

This wine from the IGP Illes Balears is what Ànima Negra itself calls its most charismatic wine, illustrating the long efforts of Miquel Àngel Cerdá and Pere Obrador to understand and strengthen the typicality of the Callet grape variety. Over the years, ÀN has thus become more expressive, lively and harmonious. ÀN is unique, authentic, mineral, wild and powerful. The vines grow in shallow soil depths on calcareous stone soils with high mineral content and low water storage capacity. Because of its typical reddish color, the soil type is called call vermell. Fruit trees grow between the vines. The daytime winds - called embates - support the health of the vines and provide good ventilation.

The grapes are harvested by hand in 10 kg boxes, a first selection takes place already in the vineyard. Immediately after the harvest, the grapes are cooled down to 8-10° C in the cold room. Subsequently, a second grape selection takes place at the sorting table. With the help of optical technology, the remaining grapes are examined and reselected in order to ultimately process only the truly best grapes.

Using the principle of gravity, the grapes are placed in 4,000-liter French oak barrels for temperature-controlled fermentation using indigenous yeasts. The subsequent malolactic fermentation takes place in new, fine-pored French oak barriques. Total aging in wood lasts 14 months, after which the wine is aged for another 2 months in stainless steel tanks.

ÀN2

The ÀN2 - also from the IGP Illes Balears - carries the characteristics of the Balearic island. It is fresh, tasty and mineral, with a variety of aromas and flavors. The authenticity of the terroir has been masterfully bottled here.

Again, during the manual harvest in 15 kg boxes, a first manual and visual selection takes place already in the vineyard. Using the principle of gravity, the grapes are transported to the stainless steel and cement tanks, and autochthonous yeasts are used in the aging process. Alcoholic fermentation takes place at a maximum of 28° C in stainless steel tanks with a capacity of 10,000 liters, malolactic fermentation takes place in cement and stainless steel tanks. The wine is then transferred to barriques. Aging for 12 months takes place in 225-liter French and American oak barrels.

Ànima Negra and the declaration of intent

The makers behind Ànima Negra are particularly critical of the island's viticulture, which is motivated only by economic and prestige-driven interests. Arable land that was originally intended for the cultivation of potatoes or beets is being misappropriated for winegrowing for economic reasons in order to improve one's own social status. According to Ànima Negra, such business practices take place on the back of and at the expense of nature, and ecological imbalances are reinforced. But viticulture and wine itself also suffer from such economically motivated viticulture.

The point of view of the people behind Ànima Ne gra is clear: 

"Faced with this situation, we see no other way out than humility before the lands that should never have been lost. Now it will be necessary to take a more radical approach: we will have to forget about the quality labels, which were nothing more than advertising strategies. We will have to try again to understand exactly how the vines work, instead of just following our whims and forcing them to give us something they can't."

Winemaking begins in the vineyard, "the winery should be only a temple, which serves to preserve the authentic relationship between vine, soil and climate."