If you’re setting sail from Barcelona, point your compass south and head for the Balearic Islands. When you arrive at the Puerto de Palma de Mallorca, you may feel besieged by tourists but keep pressing on northeast toward Santa Margalida. Traffic jams will give way to vast, wide open expanses of olive groves, almond trees, and, barring the occasional vineyard-turned-vacation home, old vines of ancestral heritage: Callet, Escursac, Mantenegro, Argamussa, Batista….Navigate down a series of dusty desert roads and you’ll stumble upon Vins Galmés i Ribot - a compound home to Cati Ribot and a collective of winemakers she has generously allowed into her fold.

Among them you’ll find Ibon Apezteguia, a sweet, gentle soul who has taken up nomadic winemaking between here and Jumilla on the mainland, where he maintains a plot of sixty-year-old Monastrell. It’s hard not to immediately fall for the lineup of bottles he has thoughtfully arranged for your arrival alongside a plate of Panades Mallorquines. After he uncorks them and pours you a taste, you can let your guard down and give yourself permission to fall in love. This is Panduro, his fleet of Mallorcan jewels — wines of quiet charm and incredible lightness that defy the blazing Mediterranean climate.

The story begins in 2015, when Ibon met Henrik Falk, a Swedish chef living in Mallorca. They became friends, bonding over a mutual love of artisanal olive oil (Ibon worked in the business at the time) and decided to try their hand at making wine. Around that time, Cati Ribot invited them to come produce wine in her family’s facility alongside other Mallorca winemaking greats like Eloi Cedo. Ibon and Henrik’s first vintage was a “disaster” but they pressed on, so to speak, and in 2018 produced their first “decent, drinkable” wine.

In the intervening years, Henrik has relocated back to Sweden, visiting to work harvest, and Ibon runs the show. He tends to three hectares of Callet and Mantenegro in Felanitx, as well as a hectare’s worth belonging to two older Mallorcan men with whom he collaborates on farming in Porreres. Working with them is one of the hard-won perks of the job. ‘There’s still a lot to discover on the island - a sort of anthropology,” Ibon says, describing the thrill of meeting these people and their elegant old vines. “It’s amazing - they’re happy, they have a goal. I always bring them some wines to drink.  They love it and I have access to beautiful vines thanks to them.”

PANDURO VINOS

Country: Spain

Region: Mallorca // Jumilla

Sub-region or Appellation: Sineu, Petra, Valle Hoya de Torres

Winemakers: Ibon Apezteguia and Henrik Falk

Viticulture: Organic

Terroir: Clay, limestone

Size: ~10 hectare, split between Mallorca and Jumilla

Instagram: @panduro_vinos

PANDURO VINOS :: Mianes

A buoyant, jubilant expression of Mantonegro and Callet. Cloud-like, transportive, the realization of a dream: light, refreshing juice in the face of oppressive heat.

Vintage: 2023
Varieties: Mantonegro, Callet
Style: Rosé Wine
ABV: 11.5%
Region: Mallorca
Sub-Region or Appellation: Sineu, Petra
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines:
Soils: Clay, limestone
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Mantonegro sees 2 days of skin contact before pressing; Callet macerates for 7 days.
Aging: Separately in 500L French oak barrels for 6 months
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: None added

PANDURO VINOS :: Quartó

A fever dream of Mediterranean garrigue, red fruit and salty sea air. Profoundly light, highly mineral.

Vintage: 2023
Varieties: Callet
Style: Red Wine
ABV: 11.5%
Region: Mallorca
Sub-Region or Appellation: Sineu, Petra
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines:
Soils: Clay, limestone
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Destemmed, 14 days of maceration
Aging: 500L French oak barrels for 6 months
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: None added

PANDURO VINOS :: Panduro

An age-worthy expression of Monastrell from a “very underrated wine region full of opportunities for young projects with low budgets — an area with a lot of potential that unfortunately has a bad reputation because of high alcohol and bold wines.” Rich, fertile soil and a low pH yields a wine that’s robust and generous on the palate.

Vintage: 2023
Varieties: 95% Monastrell, 5% “local” varieties
Style: Red Wine
ABV: 13%
Region: Murcia
Sub-Region or Appellation: Jumilla
Viticulture: Organic
Age of Vines: ~60 years old
Soils: Limestone
Yeasts: Indigenous
Vinification: Majority de-stemmed with some whole bunches included, 16 days of maceration
Aging: 500L French oak barrels for 6 months
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: None added