Soca-Rel Escursac 2024

Alan Nance finds that the colour of respite from the summer heat is also red

Soca-Rel Escursac 2024, Soca-Rel

No DO (Binissalem, Mallorca)

100% Escursac

12.5% ABV

€21.95 from Decantalo

Here in Catalonia, the summer heat has arrived with a vengeance and calls for wines that are fresh and energizing, that give you a lift rather than adding to the end-of-working-day lethargy. Whites, rosados and sparklers are normally seen as the go-to wines in this scenario, so what to uncork if what you fancy is red? Thankfully, Spain offers an abundance of solutions to this conundrum, one of which I am now supping for the first time.

Pep Rodríguez's know-how comes from years of experience working the land and vines on his native island of Mallorca. In 2019, he set up his own micro-winery, Soca-Rel, and currently farms 4.5 ha of a veritable who's-who of traditional Mallorcan varieties: Manto Negro, Escursac, Esperó de Gall, Fogoneu, Mancés de Tibús, Fogoneu and Vinater Blanc. Hence the name of his project, a Mallorcan expression akin to the English 'local born and bred' (in Spanish: pura cepa). All farming is organic, and the vines share their small parcels with olive and fruit trees, a minded strategy to promote biodiversity.

The wine in my glass, crafted solely from Escursac, immediately draws me in with a nose redolent of red fruit, wild herbs and dry, dusty earth — aromas that encapsulate the Mediterranean and make me feel at home. On the palate it is vibrant and alive, the slightly tart fruit and herbal notes revelling on a bed of fine-grained tannins.

Slightly chilled on a hot day, it is pure pleasure in a glass. Yet as the bottle drains, and conversation among friends builds, I realise that there's more to this wine than first meets the senses. Perfect for summer, this is also a wine for the seasons.