If Pep Rodríguez were a grape variety, he would be the result of many crosses. His family tree includes a Portuguese grandfather and a gypsy grandmother; his mother is from Murcia in south-east Spain, his father from Ayamonte (Huelva, Andalusia). Pep was born in Mallorca (Capdellà, 1971), but by local standards he is a foraster (an outsider). His wife, who is of local origin, suggested the name Soca-Rel, a local expression that can be translated as "through and through local", which Pep loved - he has always been fascinated by the way the local culture is "ultra-protected" in Mallorca.
Although many home-grown producers are turning their attention to local grapes, international varieties still feature to some extent in their wine ranges. But Pep, whose first wines were released in 2020 and has no ties to the past, is proud that his wines are made from 100% local grapes. With fewer than 10,000 bottles produced, and 18,000 expected at best, no one better embodies the role of the Mallorcan vigneron.
He did not get here taking the easiest or most comfortable route. In his youth, his father's heavy drinking spoilt his appreciation of wine. "At home he drank a table wine from Vins Ripoll and in restaurants he drank José L. Ferrer.” As fate would have it, Ripoll is now Pep's neighbour and he has been working in the vineyards of José L. Ferrer for 26 years.
The starting point of his journey was therefore his love of the land. After a first experience picking almonds and carobs, at the age of 17 he got a job on a traditional Mallorcan farm or possessió. It was a 200-hectare estate where cereals and other crops were grown together with livestock (sheep, pigs, donkeys...). There he immersed himself in farming life. "I absorbed it as if it were the Bible and the Ten Commandments," he says. But the 1990s were not the best of times for rural life. "My mates in the construction industry were doing much better; I joined another estate with a two-hectare vineyard planted to Cabellis (Manto Negro). I was struck by the fact that they were making a wine without adding anything to it; it was a disaster, but we drank it because we had made it ourselves."
Since the late nineties, he has worked full-time in the vineyards of José L. Ferrer, the island's largest winery, but he has always found time to pursue other activities. "Since 2000-2001 I have been practising organic farming on my own. The people who taught me never thought of not following the lunar cycle, of not bringing sheep into the vineyards, of not letting a plot of land rest. It seems that those who have been working like this for years are underestimated, but everything I have learned from these farmers has helped me a lot," he says.
His other favourite saying is "in the countryside, forget the calendar". According to Pep, this is something that needs to be understood, embraced and accepted. "It makes no sense to turn this work into art, which it isn't, or into a ten-to-five activity, like an office job," he says wryly.
The seed of Soca-Rel and the heart of the project is a property situated halfway between Binissalem and Consell, which Pep rented in 2008. Since then he began renting abandoned plots of land in exchange for their maintenance and wine. It was around this time that he met a building contractor who financed his work and allowed him to use the basement of a supermarket to make wine on a very small scale. Pep then poured his first experiments at local garage wine fairs.
Antoni Martorell, a researcher at the IRFAP (Institut Recerca i Formació Agroalimentaria i Pesquera Illes Balears), was an invaluable help in those early days. He gave Pep useful advice on winemaking ("the most important thing is to keep it clean, clean and clean") and helped him to obtain plant material from recovered grape varieties.
Pep currently grows 4.5 hectares of Manto Negro, Escursac, Esperó de Gall, Fogoneu, Mancés de Tibús, Fogoneu and Vinater Blanc. Vinater Blanc is the only variety still awaiting approval - in fact, the process has not even begun due to difficulties in finding virus-free material. White grapes were never in his plans, but when he tried Vinater at a tasting of minority varieties at the University of the Balearic Islands, he was hooked. Now he is delighted with its results: "It gives good yields and is easy to work with."
He also has a small plot of vines, mostly planted with material from Can Aixertell, where the University of the Balearic Islands created an experimental vineyard. It includes the white varieties Argamussa, Quigat and Valent Blanc, and the reds Callet Negrella, Giró Negre and Vinater Negre (also known as Bobal).
The oldest vines are about eight years old; the youngest were planted this year. The varieties are arranged in alternated rows to encourage pollination. Goblet training is preferred to trellising, but that doesn't mean sacrificing elements that are essential for Rodríguez such as irrigation. "Almost everyone uses it here. Last year we had temperatures of 34º C as early as May. This spring has been rainy and maybe we can hold out longer, but in any case the idea is to use irrigation when there is a deficit.”
He recently started to plant olive and fruit trees among his vines to provide shade and cool the microclimate of the vineyard. This is something that his friend Francesc Grimalt of 4 Kilos, a leading producer on the island, has been studying for years (we recommend listening to his fantastic presentation - in Spanish - at a Futuro Viñador meeting). The soils favour polyculture. They are very deep, the result of the erosion of the Sierra de Tramontana mountains, and are a mixture of gravel and inert clay, poor in nutrients but rich in moisture.
All Soca-Rel wines are organic. The vintage and grape variety are certified, but they do not have the seal of any geographical indication. Pep says his distributors claim he makes natural wines, but even though he sometimes takes risks, he does not feel comfortable with that label.
The basic range includes three reds: a Manto Negro, an Escursac and a 50/50 blend of these two varieties which he is now co-fermenting. He feels that, in this way, the character of each variety is better reflected in the wine.
The grapes are destemmed, not crushed, in order to use whole berries. Fermentation takes place in plastic vats (natural yeasts are the norm here) with the aid of round plates to submerge the cap. There is no maceration either before or after fermentation. The wine then undergoes a first racking and a second at a later stage. The wine is kept in stainless steel tanks until March or April, when it is bottled. Filtering is not on the agenda for the time being, as Pep has had no good experiences with it. Oak ageing has also been ruled out in order to keep costs in check, but last year he had a trial with a fine-grained barrel supplied by Grimalt and it worked very well, he told us.
The Manto Negro red may contain around 5% Fogoneu. Harvesting times are particularly important, according to Pep: "The horizon for fresh fruit is short, as it can get cooked quite quickly, which is why Manto Negro can be so heavy. The one he produces is 12.5% abv, shows brandied fruit over an earthy background and is consistent and textured on the palate. The Escursac is more energetic, with red fruit and herbal notes and a vibrant, rounded palate.
Still, my favourite was the blend of Manto Negro and Escursac. It had the nuances of the two previous wines, but offered far more intensity, depth and definition. Curiously, the tannins felt firmer, perhaps indicating further ageing potential. All three wines retail at around €19 in Spain and is available from S'Estanc Vell and Vinámica in Mallorca and Human Vins in Barcelona.
An experimental range is being produced under the Politxó brand. In the 2022 vintage it includes a red wine made from Esperó de Gall at 12% abv., a rather wild, herbaceous (stinging nettle, tomato plant), tannic variety; and a wonderful Vinater Blanc (11.5% abv.). The latter has aromas of white flowers and honey, followed by some unctuousness on the palate, notes of raw almonds and distinctive, bright, vibrant acidity leading to a very long finish.
As he gets to know each grape better, Pep is starting to identify the best possible blends. Just as the combination of Manto Negro and Escursac enhances the qualities of each individual grape, blending Escursac with Esperó de Gall results in a broader expression of fruit and a mouthfeel that Esperó alone cannot provide.
Another experiment is the blend of Esperó de Gall and Vinater. Although it may sound daring, the result is all about freshness and once again manages to soften the tannins of Esperó de Gall.
espite starting his business in 2020 with just a few bottles, Pep has already earned high scores from Jancis Robinson and his wines are beginning to be known among the initiated. At 52, he's not thinking of leaving his job at José L. Ferrer, where he's allowed to experiment in the vineyard and is particularly proud of having converted to organic farming the 130 hectares of vineyards owned and rented by the winery. "My obsession is to learn about vineyards and wines; maybe it's very simple, but I think it's fantastic," he says.
