Mallorca’s Finca Biniagual – near Binissalem – has appointed the acknowledged French oenologist Matthieu Pichenot as the new oenologist and manager of their winery, viticulture, and agriculture.

Matthieu is a qualified oenologist and engineer in viticulture and oenology, and was winemaker for the pioneering ecological winery Domaine Gayda in Languedoc (France) for six years. For the past three years he was technical director and oenologist at the winery Château de Lastours in Corbières.

Thirty-eight-year-old Matthieu has left the South of France, his birthplace, to settle in Mallorca, and is full of enthusiasm for Finica Biniagual – where winemaking started twenty years ago. He is leading the team in the vineyards and in the winery, with cellarmen José Luis Seguí and Isaías Curiel.

“I love the potential of the terroir, of Mallorca’s autochthonous grape varieties and its complex and well-balanced wines,” Matthieu says.

Circular Agriculture

“Biniagual’s project also attracted me because of its philosophy of polyculture and circular agriculture,” the oenologist adds. “We have sown leguminous plants and cereals as green fertilizer and in order to compete with weeds in a natural way. The seeds come from our own production, and the manure and compost are produced by our sheep. Thus we return part of what the soil produces.”

Mallorca’s climate is not unfamiliar for the French oenologist. “I come from the South of France, which has lots of climatic similarities. Both are regions deficient in rain and with a Mediterranean climate. There is a difference in the wind – in the South of France, the Tramuntana blows with much more force; in Mallorca, the summer heat is more intense.”

The appointment of Matthieu reflects Finca Biniagual’s continuous progress towards excellence in their wines and major sustainability in the cultivation of the estate.

Finca Biniagual, apart from a winery, is a farm with 170 hectares: vineyards, olive groves, citrus trees, carob and almond trees, plantations of cereals and a flock of 300 sheep. The agriculture is certified as Integrated Production, a system that guarantees a sustainable production of food products using environmentally friendly methods.

If you’ve never visited the hamlet of Finca Biniagual, I’d like to recommend you do so while in Mallorca. It’s a place of extraordinary charm and timelessness – and a wonderful location for weddings and other functions (once Covid restrictions are lifted).

Jan Edwards Copyright 2021