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Whili most Majorcan farmers are complaining about the drought, said to be one of the worst in the past 50 years, the vintners are rubbing their hands with glee and say that it means this year's wine will be of exceptional quality. The continuing lack of rain means that by the time of harvesting, the vines are exhausted and the grapes do not swell up. The vines then carry out a natural selection of the grapes, protecting the best bunches and rejecting those of poor quality. The consequences of the drought are particularly noticeable in the old vines, those which are more than 30 years old, such as the majority in the municipality of Santa Maria. Here the youngest vines have been protected with drip systems to guarantee their survival. But the drought will also affect production figures estimated for this year. In Binissalem, for example, production on the vines which produce the denominación de origen wine will be ten per cent less than usual. Pep Carretero is one of the members of the committee regulating the denominación de origen. He reckons that the yield could drop from last year's 5'100 kilos per hectare to an average of 4'500 kilos. However, this drop in yield will not influence the total volume which will be similar to last year's 1'700 tons of grapes, thanks to the 50 new hectares which have been planted.