This winery is owned by the German cosmetics magnate Hans-Peter Schwarzkopf, who bought an historic estate near Pollença in the north of Mallorca in the mid 1990s. The first records of vine growing date back to the Christian reconquest of the island in the 13th century, and the wines were well known in the area in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The current owners planted their first vineyard in 1999 with a strong focus on organic farming, which also included other crops such as olive trees. The stunning vertical winery was built on the slope of an old quarry. This means that vinification is done by gravity, using small crane-operated tanks. The facilities were designed to produce around 400,000 bottles, although at present production does not exceed 250,000 bottles. Much of this, especially the whites and rosés, is consumed locally by tourists. The reds fare better on export markets, where 40% of the wines are sold. Direct sales from the winery are also significant.
Today, Can Axartell sources its grapes from 35 hectares of land in Pollença, where the soil is shallow, stony and rich in limestone, and another 22 hectares further inland at Finca Boscana (Vilafranca de Bonany), where the soils are deeper, with less limestone and more clay. Although further away from the coast, this is a cooler area, better exposed to the sea breezes, where white grapes are the main crop. The winery's directors insist that in Mallorca, the best sites are not exposed to the sun, but to the breeze.
The variety of grapes grown at Can Aixartell is extraordinary. It includes most of the international varieties that were so popular in the 1990s and early 2000s (Syrah, Merlot, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot...), but also local grapes such as Manto Negro, Monastrell, Callet (the first to be planted on the Pollença estate) or Prensal, others that are becoming increasingly popular with winemakers such as Giró Ros and Malvasía, as well as more exotic, recovered varieties planted in an experimental 1.5 hectare vineyard in partnership with the University of the Balearic Islands: Mancés de Tibús, Vinater Blanc and Negre, Mandó, Quigat, Argamussa, Escursac, Valent Blanc and Negre, Esperó de Gall, Pollença, Giró Negre or Gorgollassa. Cuttings from this experimental plot have been generously made available to other Mallorcan producers.
The winery divides its range into everyday wines, food-friendly wines and special editions. The entry-level range consists of three unoaked wines priced between €13 and €16: a white blend of Prensal Blanc, Moscatel, Giró Ros, Malvasía and Viognier; a rosé made from Pinot Noir, Callet, Syrah and Merlot; and a red blending Callet, Manto Negro, Merlot, Syrah and Gorgollassa. All are fermented and aged briefly in stainless steel tanks.
The food-friendly range includes Corum (around €20 in Spain), a white Malvasía aged in foudre for six months, as well as a Merlot rosé called Aurorum (€23). There is also a red Callet (Terrum, €26), aged for 12 months in barrels, and Ventum (€26), a fairly powerful, high-alcohol red blend of Merlot, Syrah and Callet.
Although very attractive to wine geeks, special editions are made in tiny quantities. Some examples include single-varietal reds from Gargollassa, Manto Negro, a Mancés de Tibús rosé, a skin-contact Prensal or a sweet Moscatel.