Sa Cudia, the second life of the countryside

Miriam Triay / Photos Sa Cudia- When the Martínez Jover brothers lost their grandfather, they were certain of one thing: his estate would not be abandoned. Even though none of them had previously worked the land and their passions lay in other professions—such as dentistry, in the case of Andrés Martínez, whom we spoke to—the farm where their grandfather had spent his entire life had to endure. How? They did not yet know, but they were determined.

“When the estate passed into the hands of our mother, Ana Maria Jover, we wanted to continue working the Menorcan countryside and give it a second life. The first thing we did was remove the livestock, as we could not take care of them. When we saw how quickly the land was deteriorating, we decided we had to do something that required less constant attention and that was different from what was traditionally done. That is how we concluded that we should focus on a Mediterranean crop, which left us with three options: olive trees, vineyards or aromatic plants. And we chose vineyards.”

Thus, engineers, doctors, economists… took over the management of the Sa Cudia estate and began planting vines. Along the way, as with many innovative and entrepreneurial projects, they encountered obstacles. The first and most significant was the need to obtain vineyard planting rights. In Menorca, until then, no one had applied for or acquired them. “We were among the first estates to obtain these rights, after a great deal of work, as it was a complex process. In fact, when it comes to white wine, we were also the first estate to dedicate ourselves to it.” In this sense, their commitment to a single varietal, malvasia, allowed them to stand out and continues to do so today.

“We wanted to focus on a single varietal. That was where our originality lay. We chose malvasia because it adapts very well to the harsh Mediterranean conditions. Given that our estate is highly exposed to the tramontana wind and the adverse maritime climate, we realised it was the most suitable option.” As it was the variety that performed best on their land, it seemed the logical choice. Even so, it comes with challenges they had to accept: “it is a very temperamental and irregular plant, a vine that produces very little wine”.

Nevertheless, the Martínez brothers do not work professionally in winemaking; their careers lie elsewhere. As such, waiting times, slow development and low yields were conditions they could manage. The vineyards of Sa Cudia therefore produce a very limited harvest, carefully tended and hand-selected to craft distinctive white wines.

Moreover, the brothers have chosen not to turn their estate into a tourist destination. They do not offer visits or any hospitality or catering services. “It is exclusively an agricultural operation to keep the countryside in good condition. For this reason, the return on investment is quite difficult, but it is worth it to maintain this passion and give continuity to our grandfather’s estate.”

As for the wines, their main production is malvasia white wines, “a specific monoculture selected by us”. The flagship wine of the winery is Sa Cudia. As a distinctive feature, for the past two years the market has also seen a wine made from a selection of blended vintages, in which “we have malvasia that has undergone a natural ageing process and is being highly appreciated by gourmets as a dessert wine”.

From the outset, their aspiration was to stand apart, to be original and to create a wine with the potential to reach markets beyond the island due to its singularity. With this new bottle, they may well achieve that goal. “Our oxidative or dry malvasia contains no sugar and is strikingly expressive, because when you taste it, it feels sweet on the palate. It tastes like a candy, yet it contains no sugar. It recalls a sherry wine. Our intention is for it to travel beyond the island and gain wider recognition.”

BODEGA VIÑA SA CUDIA
Carretera d’Es Grau, km 8
07701 Maó
fincasacudia@gmail.com