Considering that Pep Rodríguez focusses his winery on 100% local varieties with the aim of protecting and showcasing the island’s local culture, it is clear that “Soca-rel” (thoroughbred in Mallorcan) is a name that fits the project perfectly. A colloquial expression from Mallorca, the winery’s birthplace, referring to something that is authentic, genuine or represents the pure essence. He has achieved this over the course of his career as a vigneron by immersing himself in the wisdom of the farmers and, of course, by being in the vineyard 365 days a year. As he says himself, “in the vineyard, forget about the calendar”. This is a constant work that has been managed over ten years on the typical Mallorcan farm and that began to bear its first fruits in 2020 with very few bottles, but of an extraordinary quality.
A faithful advocate of local varieties, he is committed to the Escursac. A variety that was almost eradicated by phylloxera at the end of the 19th century, but which, thanks to committed winegrowers like Pep, has not only survived, but has also been included in the list of authorised wine grape varieties in the Balearic Islands. This is how Soca-rel Escursac has come to be, a single-variety red wine made from this variety grown in clay loam soil with gravel in the municipality of Binissalem. Under a Mediterranean climate and organic cultivation, a quality native grape is produced, which is then destemmed but not crushed so they can work with whole berries. Fermentation lasts 8 days at a constant temperature of 28ºC with native yeasts in plastic vats and uses round plates to submerge the cap. The wine then undergoes malolactic fermentation without inoculation. Finally, it is bottled without filtering.
The result is Soca-rel Escursac, a fine, spicy and mineral wine, made by someone who loves Mallorca and who has managed to realise his dream of creating a wine from this Mediterranean island that is authentic and has its own personality. A thoroughbred wine.