OJO DE IBIZA
TASTE THE OCEAN, THE EARTH, THE WIND AND THE SUN. IN THE FAR-FLUNG NORTH, OJO DE IBIZA’S CONTEMPORARY VINEYARDS ARE REFRAMING THE FUTURE OF IBIZA’S WINES.
There is a place in the north of Ibiza, where shallow, chalky soils give way to tumbling terraces. A high place, where tight-knit grape vines lean gently towards the sea and where the salt-licked breeze of the Mediterranean drifts ever upwards. This place is Terrazas del Norte, and it is the birthplace of Ojo de Ibiza.
On the other side of the planet, in the foothills of the Andes, the Swiss musician, conceptual artist and entrepreneur Dieter Meier and his family own over 6,000 cattle and a Mendozan wine estate that produces over one million bottles per year. But it was only when Meier had been visiting Ibiza for more than 20 years that the opportunity arose to take over an abandoned vineyard near San Juan.
Reached by an ancient stone camino, the sprawling estate overlooks the farthest reaches of Ibiza’s northern seas. Shallow, sandy soil concentrates the flavour and purity of the grapes. The roots and vines draw up the taste of the earth. The leaves and grapes are fed by the sun and the salt-drenched sea air. It is a heady combination that has created the very finest wine of Ibiza.
Today, Ojo de Ibiza has four wines: the original Terrazas del Norte is full-bodied, concentrated and dense. Tierra Sur, a lighter red from the Ojo vineyard in San Mateu, has herbal notes and black forest berries. Blanco is bright and tactile, with a minerally bite and textured acidity gleaned from Malvasia, a white grape known as the ‘daughter of the Mediterranean’. The apricot-hued, summer-soaked Rosé is hewn from one of the oldest grape varieties on the island, Monastrell, a grape that imparts rosehip, citrus and strawberry notes.
Winemaking in Ibiza is a tradition as old as time, its history steeped in the ancient trade routes of the Mediterranean. But as Ojo de Ibiza reframes the industry’s future, there are chapters yet to be written.
