Binifadet, over 40 years of history

By Miriam Triay / Photos Binifadet – In 1982, Menorcan winemaker Carlos Anglés decided to start planting vines with the aim of reviving winemaking on the island of Menorca, a tradition that had been forgotten over time and changing eras. As his son, Luís Anglés, now explains, “he planted forty different grape varieties, with the help of his father, known as grandpa Buri. The idea was to experiment and see which one adapted best to Menorca’s climate and soil. And for twenty years he made wine in an amateur, family way, just for us and our friends.”

But the time came, as happens in many other trades, to take the leap: to dare to turn passion into vocation, into a profession. And that is what he did. “In the year 2000, a series of circumstances came together that made it a good time to launch the project in a more professional way. Among them, that the wine turned out really well. So we bought the Binifadet land and began planting. By 2004 we had already opened the winery and entered the market with two wines: a white and a red.”

It’s now twenty-one years that the winery has been operating and embracing Menorca’s winegrowing tradition in a professional way. They started with two wines, as the current owner, Luís Anglés, tells us, but today there are already fourteen. “It’s a lot of wines for such a small winery as ours. But we wanted to take the risk, to try to reach as wide an audience as possible.”

Right now, they even have a restaurant located at the winery itself, as well as offering tours open to anyone. This wide range allows them to provide service with great variety and quality. In this extensive line-up of wines, we find: 2 Tancas red, Tanca 12 white, Tanca 13 rosé, Pieles Orange Wine, Foraster, Buri sparkling white, Buri sparkling rosé, Binifadet rosé, Binifadet red, Binifadet white, Melipetó sweet white, Melipetó sweet red, Melipetó sweet rosé, and Merluzo white. All of them are made with the different grape varieties present and planted on the estate: chardonnay, merlot, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, muscat, monastrell, giró ros and white garnacha.

Their goal is to keep growing, especially in terms of hectares – they currently manage fifteen, thirteen of which are their own – and to continue boosting the island’s native varieties. They have placed a lot of hope in these latter ones. They firmly believe in Menorcan grapes, and they want to prove it. This research and intention has so far taken shape with the release, last year, of their first wine made from an indigenous variety: Foraster, a wine made from white garnacha and giró ros.

They also intend, at some point, to expand further afield, so that Binifadet is not only a well-known wine in Menorca, but also has significant demand in the rest of the peninsula and even beyond. “Until now we have been able to sell outside Menorca and outside Spain, but only in a very occasional way. Our aim is to make a more serious effort to introduce ourselves at national and international level. We believe we have already reached a sufficiently good level of quality and a wide enough range to give it a try.”

Carretera Sant Lluís - Es Castell, km 05
Tel. +34 650 064 523
https://binifadet.com
info@binifadet.com
Instagram @bodegasbinifadet
(07710 – Sant Lluís)