Over 300 years of family history in Consell
Bodegas Ribas was founded in 1711 by the nobleman Pedro Ribas de Cabrera — on his estate in the village of Consell at the foot of the Tramuntana mountains, where the company headquarters still stands today. The listed 18th-century manor house still houses the historic cellar vaults, where production has never been interrupted. This makes Ribas the oldest continuously operated winery on Mallorca and one of the oldest in Spain. Ten generations later, Araceli and Javier Servera Ribas manage the estate. For many years, the bodega mainly produced bulk wine for the local market; it was not until the 1980s that gradual modernization began, and since 1986 the wines have been marketed in bottles. In 2019, the estate was expanded with a new building by star architect Rafael Moneo — a clear signal that tradition and the present are no contradiction here.
Organic viticulture and the rescue of almost lost varieties
Ribas manages around 50 hectares of vineyards, divided into 38 plots around Consell. The soils are permeable, stony, and gravelly with a sandy component — a terroir that gives the wines minerality and a natural freshness. The winery practices organic farming with a focus on growth control and careful water management; the vines are trained in a goblet shape and attached to vertical supports to maximize air circulation and sunlight exposure. The native varieties reach an average vine age of 60 years, which leads to more concentrated yields and deeper aromas. Manual labor is a basic principle in the vineyard and cellar: grape harvest and grape selection are carried out exclusively by hand. In terms of aging, there are 250 wooden barrels — three-quarters of them from France, one-quarter from America — as well as stainless steel tanks for the freshness-focused cuvées.
The family's commitment to the Mallorcan wine heritage is particularly formative: Ribas rediscovered and cultivated the Gargollassa, a red island variety that was considered practically extinct, in 2001. This pioneering work makes the estate one of the most important players in the preservation of genetic diversity in Balearic viticulture. The conviction behind this is clear: autochthonous varieties are best adapted to their climate of origin and reliably deliver quality even under the growing pressure of climate change.
Island-typical, characterful, and without compromise
The heart of the range is formed by the three wines that you can also find with us: the Ribas Blanc made from Prensal Blanc — bright, citrus-focused, with fine minerality; the Ribas Rosat — Mediterranean light, with the dry freshness that Mallorca expresses in the glass; and the Ribas Negre, the clearest expression of the winery: Mantonegro-dominated, with red berries, a hint of macchia and spice, fine-grained tannin, and a finish that reflects the barren gravel soil of the plots. The wines are marketed under the designation of origin Vi de la Terra Mallorca. The flagship of the estate, the Ribas de Cabrera, is only created in exceptional vintages from the oldest Manto-Negro vines on the property. Anyone who opens the wines from Ribas does not get an island-romantic mass export — but the result of over three centuries of variety knowledge, organic care, and the courage to rely on local identity long before it was a trend.
