About Son Prim winery

Panoramic view of Son Prim winery in Mallorca

In the early 90s Jaime Llabrés, planted a small plot of land with a mixture of vine stock, including prensal, chardonnay, chenin blanc, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot to see how they performed in Mallorca’s soil and climate.

Wine from the first harvest of the different varieties was produced in small stainless steel tanks with a cooling system, situated under a very large carob tree. First results were very satisfactory. Ageing of the wine took place in oak barrels that rested comfortably in a cool basement in Palma. Around the mid 90s the whole family was involved in planting new vines, including Jaime J. Llabrés jr. who at five years of age began to discover the world of wine and then grew up along with the family’s vineyard until he has taken over the helm.

A few years ago Son Prim’s wine cellar in the village of Sencelles came to the end of its life. Its two ‘cups’ of living stone –as old fermentation vats are locally known in Mallorcan language- and the big oak casks were too difficult to update. Building work of a new winery started in 2003, in the middle of the countryside next to the new vineyards and was finished just in time to process the 2004 harvest.

Mallorca and the Balearic’s dichotomy of pure breed locals and tradition versus international influx is true fact at Son Prim. Behind the scenes, the winery counts on the expertise of Toni Bucher while experienced winemaker Alain Bramaz takes care of the overall process, from planting new vines through ageing to bottling the final produce.

The first plants were trained as espaliers on a 2.4m x 1.25m frame. The height of this frame was planned to maximise leaf area. The soil is hard, red clay which retains rainwater and adequate to accommodate good root growth. There are some spectacular ‘Bolls’ or stones scattered around the land, some as big as melons, which in summer help to maintain a steady temperature and retain humidity. With the new vines a lower frame of 2.4m x 1m is mounted to compensate for the grape yield reduction in order to produce more concentrated fruit. With a production yield of 3,500 bottles per hectare Son Prim has set out to extend its vineyards to be able to maintain current production levels.

A strict sorting process allows only healthy and ripe grape clusters to enter the wine tanks. Cold maceration, temperature-controlled fermentation and relatively long skin maceration help produce intense wines with good ageing potential. All wines are aged in barrels where only a small proportion is new oak.

A natural approach to winemaking translates into no use of fining products or enzymes and only very limited, gentle filtration. The objective is to produce intense, pure wines with the smell and taste of the vineyards’ fruit, unmasked by oak. Good structure and balance allow the wine to improve with ageing over time.