Ses Talaioles - Winemaking On The East Coast
We were lucky enough to visit Ses Talaioles last Spring and had such a fun tour with the amazing Helen. There is something special about getting a close up look at how the product you see on the shelf gets made from start to finish.
The winery is on a beautiful piece of land in Mallorca’s east, just a few kilometres from Port Cristo and the Balearic Sea. We feel both grateful and inspired when we get to go and meet the people behind the products being made in Mallorca. So we asked Helen if she’d be open to answering a few questions and helping us tell the story of Ses Talaioles to our readers.
Ses Talaioles FAQ
Address: Poligono Poligon, 18, 317, 07680 Porto Cristo, Illes Balears, Spain
Description: Mallorcan winery producing premium blends using both international grape varieties and indigenous Spanish Tempranillo, alongside native grapes.
Owners: The de Waal family
Interview with Helen Purrucker from Ses Talaioles
Hello Helen! Tell us little about yourself.
Buenos dias, My name is Helen Purrucker, and I am responsible for sales and communication for the winery Ses Talaioles in the eastern part of Mallorca. Besides building up customer relations, I do tastings and tours around our finca. I come from Germany and have been here for three years now, having moved from Berlin-Kreuzberg to the countryside next to Porto Cristo. What a beautiful and inspirational island! So much to discover every single day. The proximity to sea and mountains, the light and the space. There´s no way back: ;)
Were you in the wine business before? If not, what did you do?
I am a Quereinsteiger indeed. After working many years as a consultant in the communication sector, I quit my job in 2019 with the intention to dip into topics I am deeply interested in, such as wine and culinary and to explore and to travel.
Wine combines nature and culture. It connects people and creates memories. I was into wine before, but not knowing much. I wanted to change it, so I did my first harvest at Moselle, on the steepest vineyards you can imagine, for four weeks, slightly raining... But also, every night getting to know new people that were all enthusiastic wine lovers. Never have I learned more about wine than during this period. It was my personal turning point towards wine, I guess. Soon I decided not to go back to agency life in the city and I traveled to South Africa and other places of wine. Wherever wine grows, it is beautiful. In August 2020 I came to Ses Talaioles to help in the wine cellar during vintage before doing another harvest in Piemonte. During that time Ses Talaioles was on a turning point to move forward and the owner family and I connected well. I moved to Mallorca two months later, in January 2021, to start working with Ses Talaioles on a permanent basis. I guess that was being curious and open to life.
What inspired the opening of Ses Talaioles? Take us through the early days. What was that like?
In the year 2000, the German-Dutch family de Waal, breathed new life into this Finca of 100 hectares. It has always been a mixed-agricultural farm. They fell in love with this land when they first saw it. The light, the nature, the view. The sea-facing slopes of stony lime marl, and now a thinned carob plantation, offered a much higher potential, an ideal terroir for the cultivation of red wine grapes. They started with a first plantation of four hectares in 2002, and in 2007 the first vintage was released.
Today we are up to twelve hectares of red grapes, a modern winery, combining cutting edge technology with manual work, but most important: passion for authentic wines. We have a great permanent team, all from Mallorca and Portugal and a passionate winemaker from Argentina: Federico Zaina.
The family found out that there was wine cultivation on this land before – until the time of phylloxera. The parcel was called “Na Pujola”, so we named our icon wine after this parcel. It’s all about lasting and passing it on. The history of the Finca goes back to 500 years ago.
How do you describe Ses Talaioles to a stranger you’re meeting for the first time?
Ses Talaioles is a magical place. The view, the land, the smell… It is a small boutique winery standing for high quality wines, elegant and complex. Every day is a paradise for itself. We create wines with personality for people with personality.
I tend to invite everyone to come and join me for a tasting and tour. I think it’s very special as you can experience a unique place on this island that you wouldn’t get to know otherwise. A hidden gem. And the tour with the buggy around the entire finca is fun! The wines, something you should try.
Why the Porto Cristo area? What makes it such a special place?
The family discovered the finca – they were not searching for such a land, it appeared to them I would say.
Vineyard-wise, starting to grow wine on this land was courageous. Today we have more than 20 parcels with different soils and special needs. However, the proximity to the sea, the ongoing sea breeze especially on hot summer days cooling down and drying the plants – that’s special as it slows down the ripening of the grapes. The wines reflect the land.
What’s the best part of working on the vineyard? The worst part?
Asking the vineyard team, they’d say the best: working with fresh air, the colleagues and keeping themselves in shape. The worst: the cold during winter pruning days, the heat during hot summer months.
Asking our winemaker Federico Zaina and myself: working with the best product one can imagine, being part of production from plant to bottle. And then bringing it to people, sharing our enthusiasm.
What are you most excited about right now with Ses Talaioles?
I like our coherent portfolio. Each of our six different wines has its own role and purpose, feels like no role is missing.
Briefly explained, we have two different lines of wine: TALVIN, our entry line, comes as an easy drinking but still complex red wine, a refreshing Provence-style Rosé, and a salty white wine, a Blanc de Noir (white wine made from red grapes). Everyday wines that make you look forward to all the warm days ahead of us. This year we will graft our very first white variety: Giro Ros, a local variety from Mallorca. Very curious to finally be able to pour it.
And then our Terroir line consists of the three red wines: SESTALINO, SESTAL and NA PUJOLA, all complex and elegant, aged in barrels and amphoras made of clay. We will have the next vintage 2020 of NA PUJOLA to be released to the market in March, a wine that is only released from the best vintages.
This year we will launch our first red single-variety amphora wine. Keep your eyes open or get in contact with me.
And of course, I am happy to receive more and more visitors for tours and tastings from all over the world.
What’s the best experience you have had working at Ses Talaioles?
The first year at Ses Talaioles, I worked in every part of the vineyards and wine cellar. From pruning to harvest, from pump overs to bottling. I know what I am talking about.
And I am obsessed watching the sunrise over the sea every single morning, standing on top of the vineyards.
When you next have time off, where will you be?
It’s either hiking Tramuntana or enjoying wine in Italy. Few things beat dolce vita. Maybe just having the privilege to live on the island Mallorca.
What do you think the future holds for Ses Talaioles and also Mallorca?
Regarding wine in general I think we are looking into a bright future as Mallorcan wine is being perceived more and more as of what it is: wine of quality and typicity. Ses Talaioles clearly has its part in that.
