Why it matters
The producer
Francesc Grimalt spent twelve years at Ánima Negra, the Mallorcan estate that changed what the island's red wines could be. He joined in 1994, working as a partner and winemaker. That time gave him a precise understanding of Callet, the indigenous Mallorcan grape Ánima Negra had helped rescue from obscurity. When Grimalt left, he took that understanding and applied it to a new project.
His partner in 4Kilos was Sergio Caballero. Between them, the two founders had roughly 4 million pesetas and a converted sheep barn outside Felanitx. The name 4Kilos came directly from that founding sum.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Felanitx sits in the southeastern interior of Mallorca, away from the tourist coast. The land here is quiet and agricultural. 4Kilos works vineyards on the red ferrous-clay soils the locals call call vermell, a name that describes the colour as much as the composition. These soils drain well, warm quickly, and give the wines a distinctive earthy depth that cooler or sandier parts of the island do not produce.
Mallorca sits in the western Mediterranean, and the climate is warm and dry through the growing season. That warmth suits Callet, which ripens reliably but does not push to high alcohol the way thicker-skinned varieties do in similar conditions. On old vines in call vermell, Callet concentrates without losing its characteristic freshness.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Grimalt hand-selects grapes at harvest. Selection at this scale is a quality decision first: Callet's thin skin and low tannin profile mean that damaged or unripe fruit has a proportionally larger effect on the finished wine than it would in a high-tannin variety where extraction can paper over inconsistency.
Fermentation depends on the wine. Stainless steel preserves freshness and primary fruit, useful for lighter blended wines where the goal is clean, direct red fruit character. Open-top oak fermenters are used for 4Kilos, where the gentle oxygen exposure during punching down helps build texture without forcing extraction. Callet's naturally low tannins mean the winemaking approach is about building mouthfeel through careful handling rather than through tannin management.
Wines to know
The range in view
The wine, 4Kilos, is a single-varietal Callet from old vines on call vermell soils, produced at around 15,000 bottles per vintage. It goes through open-top oak fermentation and is the clearest statement of what old-vine Callet on ferrous-clay delivers: dark red fruit, iron-tinged earth, spice from the older root systems, and a supple body with modest tannin. The low-tannin profile keeps the wine approachable young while the soil complexity gives it enough weight to hold for several years.
Grimalt builds blended wines using Fogoneu and Manto Negro alongside the international varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. These blends use Callet as a spice and texture contributor rather than the primary frame. In blends where Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah provides the tannin backbone, old-vine Callet brings aromatic lift and a distinctive Mallorcan earthiness that keeps the wines from reading as generic Mediterranean reds. Fermentation for these wines uses stainless steel to preserve freshness, with the blending work done to hold balance across varieties with very different tannin and alcohol profiles.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
The 4Kilos wine is the bottle to start with. It is single-varietal old-vine Callet from call vermell soils, fermented in open-top oak vats and produced at around 15,000 bottles per vintage. In the glass it is a medium-bodied, low-tannin red with dark cherry, iron-edged earth, and a spice note that comes specifically from old-vine root depth on ferrous-clay. The texture is smooth and direct, the finish clean and dry. It is not a muscular wine; the pleasure is in the combination of fruit concentration, soil character, and the particular softness that Callet delivers when handled carefully.