In 2006, Famalco Group opened up a new venture and purchased 29.7 tumoli of land at Ta’ Brettel, in the limits of Rabat, which were planted with a variety of red and white vines.
In the early days, the soil of Fra Brettel was in need of repairing, loamy typed and possessing a high content of clay. Its depth varied from 40cm in its shallowest points to 160cm in its deepest parts. In order to remedy the soil depth to permit proper root development of the vines, the group ensured that the land was ripped to a depth of a metre and tilled to improve the overall soil texture.
The vines planted were the white varieties Vermentino, Viogner, Moscato bianco and Albariño and the red varieties Syrah, Mourvedre, Graciano, Grenache and Negroamaro. The vines were grafted onto a rootstock that is tolerant to drought conditions and lime-based soils, the Paulsen 1103. All the vines are trained vertically and are either cane-pruned or spur-pruned, depending on the different requirements of their varieties.
Over the years, Fra Brettel adopted a vineyard management policy that permits the production of wine grapes of an excellent quality while respecting the biodiversity of the area. This is still being achieved through implementation of good agricultural practices and minimum intervention with phytosanitary products, which are only utilised for targeted control of disease, when the quality of the wine grapes may be compromised.
The 2018 harvest was the 10th harvest carried out at Fra Brettel under the careful supervision of the group’s vineyard coordinator Joseph Camilleri, as around 38 tonnes of grapes were harvested. These were conferred to a local winery for the production of DOK and IGT wines. Weather permitting, the annual harvest begins in the third week of August with the Moscato bianco and Viogner and concludes in the first week of November, the last varieties to be harvested being the Mourvedre and Graciano.
Careful monitoring of the behaviour of the vines at Fra Brettel and their maturation has led to the observation that certain vine varieties are less suited to the soil and climatic conditions of the area, exhibiting a delaying and non-homogenous maturation of the grapes.
The resulting grapes have also been observed to lack the characteristics that are desired to produce quality wines at Fra Brettel. As a result, undesirable vine varieties have been regrafted with more suitable varieties for the geographical area.
The regrafting project on the Moscato bianco, Vermentino and Viognier began in January 2014, with the actual process being carried out in April-May. The buds from these three white grape varieties were grafted using a technique known as T-bud onto existing vines of Negroamaro, Grenache and Mourvedre. Five tumoli have been regrafted, with a high successful survival rate.
Fra Brettel, planned to be a boutique winery, will specialise in the production of limited quantities of wines that serve a niche market. In a boutique winery, the winemaker produces wines from different wine grape varieties, respecting the entire production process: from the cultivation of the grapes in the vineyards to the grapes’ fermentation, blending and ageing and final bottling. The grapes are not only produced in the winery estate itself but also purchased from nearby vine growers. The winery itself shall reflect a typical Maltese farmhouse, with wooden shuttered windows and a typical Maltese stone balcony. The building materials shall be carefully selected such that the external winery appearance shall be aesthetically pleasing, while ensuring that it blends in with the typical Maltese country landscape.
For more information, call (+356) 2339 2336/9. Fra Brettel Estates is an investment by Fulani Properties, the property development business unit within Famalco/Building Businesses.