Jaume de Puntiró

A wine tasting with a village flavor

Jaume uncorks the first bottle, a 2023 white wine made with a local variety, prensal blanc, which we will be the first to taste since nobody has done so yet.

Author: Joan Ramis Boscana

Photographer: Jaume Oliver

We started 2024 with the map of Mallorca spread out on our work table and set  our sights on the thumbtacks we had already located in our itineraries, a constellation of points that  drives us to rediscover projects that once left a pleasant taste in our mouths. It was during this  review that we noticed the winery of Jaume de Puntiró, a cellar about which we have already published an article and that today, riding in our car, we are visiting again with a clear goal in mind: we want to start the year with a wine tasting with a village flavor.   

We drive into Santa Maria del Camí and we manage to park right in front of the winery, in the middle of Plaça Nova. In front of its simple facade a small crowd has already formed: the rest of the participants who will share this experience with us. We are welcomed  by Jaume, the son of one of Jaume de Puntiró’s partners, who, as soon as we start our visit  on this cold January day, tells us to look at the magic square hanging next to the entrance, a  polygon full of numbers that, when added by columns, rows or diagonals, always gives the same result, which in this case is forty. A number that pays homage to the years when the first wine  was produced in this cellar. Driven by its history, we enter the interior of a winery that breathes  humility.  

We are surrounded by the tanks in which a distinctive sustainable wine is made. The sustainable production practiced in Jaume Puntiró dates back to 1980. That is to say: to its  beginnings. There is a nobility of spirit that can also be appreciated in the facilities of the place, modest in its forms, but ambitious in its objectives. In the center of the room a table awaits that has  been arranged for the occasion, where ten glasses rest along with the snacks that will liven up our sips, composed of pambolis, cheese varieties of the islands, olives trencades and sausages from the land. A land where the grapes that make up the nectar that we are just a step away from tasting grow. Jaume uncorks the first bottle, a white wine from 2023 made with a  local variety, the prensal blanc, which  we will be the first to taste since nobody has done so  yet. We feel honored and give it a first sip, trying to live up to a product unknown to the public  which has light citrus notes. It is a cheerful expression that reminds us of the Galician Albariño, and that leads to the second offering in a tasting in which Jaume, always attentive,  explains everything in detail.  

This second wine is called Daurat, another white that shines with a yellowish hue in our glass.  It fills our mouth with a rich, creamy sensation, which hits our palate with intensity and we are told that  it has rested for six months in French oak barrels. When we are served  the next batch, an Amicamat that pays homage to the figure of Ramon Llull, we drain our glasses with pleasure. Even after only a first  sip we could absorb a tiny part of its wisdom, but what we feel on our tongue is the power of a  wine that has fermented in stainless steel tanks. It has more body than the previous one, and more  strength thanks to the giró ros variety. The grape, which has also been used for a fourth wine, belongs to the Divertimento branch, a section of this cellar that tends to be daring and produces wines such as the Brisat de Puntiró, an orange wine produced from skins and that shines with an orange color. This is a very powerful white wine whose label shows a photo of the two main partners of the brand, framed in a wistful image from the time they were children.  

Between bites of bread washed down with the organic oil that is also produced in the cellar itself - they have a small olive grove that allows them to produce a certain amount -, they present  the oldest wine they have, which is a coupage between mantonegro and syrah. It is called Carmesí, and when we contemplate the tint of the liquid that fills our glass,  we understand the meaning of its name. A red that is already two or three years old and makes us think of red fruits, cherries and strawberries. We swallow a piece of botifarró, and the roof of our mouth tingles just enough as the sixth wine appears before us. It has been nicknamed Buc, a mantonegro and cabernet that exudes purity and uniformity. We tried it in very small  sips and made a decision: this one is coming home with us. We will end up buying it in the store that is housed right at the entrance of the winery, where they also sell Es Begot honey, Flor de Sal de Es Trenc and other artisanal wonders.  

Towards the end of this experience, Jaume brings out a map of Mallorca divided into  denominations of origin. He unveils the secrets of these territories while we taste the Vi de Segle, a special edition that they have re-established especially for this Christmas. It has more oxidative  aromas and contrasts with the penultimate one, as it is almost a cava. Its flavor is ideal for these holidays which are coming to an end, and it has been fermented in tank and then in bottle to produce its effervescence. It has a little prickliness and a lot of dynamism. It is almost the opposite of the last  drink of the day, a vermouth of  white wine macerated in orange peel, lemon, lemon verbena,  rosemary and other herbs. The perfect end to the day.