Resting with Wine in Mallorca

Seeing as I’m writing this from a hotel room in Palma, with a view of the Med from one window and the marina out of the other, it seems fitting for it to be about Mallorcan wines. And if I read one more piece about wines for Christmas I will bash my head against a wall in despair. That said, there’s one that is both good and funny on here, by the ever reliable WineChap.

Over recent weeks in London, I’ve enjoyed three reds from Mallorca, so was more than happy to visit in person and try some more. The actual reason I’m here however, is to shoot a TV commercial and despite the economic doom, it turns out we have very little to shoot and fair bit of time off (or ‘resting’ as it’s officially called, though I rarely use the time to rest, especially when it’s sunny, there’s a pool, a beach and tons of wine and food around). So, until my suitcase containing bikini arrives (it is in the country, Sleazyjet were on top form, but the production girl’s driven off with it somewhere), I am forced to toddle off to hunt down a bar with enomatics called Wineing. Not the best name or spelling of, but let’s gloss over that. The man I sat next to on the plane, who was like an extra from Sexy Beast, told me about it. They have 5 enomatics in total, 2 of which are dedicated to local reds, so a total of 16 Mallorcan gems to try. You do get whites too but here reds are where it’s at.

I’m not going to bore you with tasting notes for a load of wines you’ll struggle to get in London but would say I was very impressed with the quality of craftmanship and value on offer. Despite most being medium to full bodied and full of ripe, aromatic fruit, the wines had a vibrant freshness about them, making them rather invigorating to drink. Helped further by the fact the enomatics kept them a teeny bit chilled which was perfect – I often think people drink red wine too warm. Some were made from international varieties - syrah, merlot and cab sauv, others from local varities such as callet and manto negro and fogoneu. It’s not uncommon to see blends of both. After a few years in bottle, some complex, savory notes develop too. Very tasty, very food friendly and definitely worth a try. And so much more exciting than another bottle of Rioja.

Thankfully, some are available in London and this is where you can get your hands on them:

Indigo Wine imports 4Kilos two wines, 12 Volts and 4 Kilos, at around £20 and £35 respectively, usually available from The Sampler, Roberson and Bottle Apostle. The 12 Volts 2007 is currently one of my favourite wines to drink. Nice label too. Winemakers seem partial to a contemporary label here and in some cases progressive wine making which is fairly impressive considering the size of the island. The youthful 4 Kilos outfit is particularly hip, with one if the wine makers being a co-founder of Sonar.

For convenience and value, head to M&S to pick up the 2010 Santa Maria del Cami, Macia Batle from Binissalem for £9.99.

Restaurant wise, Opera Tavern in Covent Garden lists the Anima Negra AN/2. If you happen to find yourself with one of their mini foie gras burgers in your hand as well, you’ll be doing well. I can assure you we drank plenty of this last night, and I didn’t have a hangover either. As always, it was about half the price than in the UK. And finally Fino and Barrafina have the 12 Volts with Fino listing a couple of others too.

If you go to Palma, which I suggest you do because it’s lovely, I can highly recommend the Hotel Portixol (room 32 has the views I mentioned earlier) and as well as Wineing, there’s a shop called Sifoneria which @razzbingo told me about. Irritatingly, after walking 45 minutes there, I discovered it was closed but I’m going to recommend it because @razzbingo knows good stuff. He’s well worth a follow too.

Salut.

www.4kilos.com
www.sifoneriapalma.com
www.wineing.es
www.annegra.com
www.bottleapostle.co.uk
www.thesampler.co.uk
www.robersonwine.com
www.indigowine.com

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Good Legs, Long Length - who? 

Well, it's me. The legs and the length refer to wine, mostly, as I do have legs and they're fairly long. It's also the name of my wine site. There are far less salubrious sites bearing the words 'good legs', mostly aimed at the heterosexual male market. They're a different thing altogether, although we are both catering for the over 18's. And my legs will be visible on there soon.

My career as a fashion model allowed me to happily eat and drink my way around the world for over a decade. For the past 3 years, as well as eking out a few more poses, I have had mini careers as a maitre d', bar tender, chef, and cheese shop worker. The only formal qualifications I've got post A-level are in booze. Appropriately, I went to a school that had a brewery as a benefactor, and received annual beer money in a weird but wonderful ceremony. I freelance for two wine companies and do a bit of writing, and a lot of eating. I'm about to buy a beehive and after that a bar (I hope). I really think more people should drink more wine. I think if you have a look at the time, it'll be wine o'clock.

http://goodlegslonglength.blogspot.com/