Portal del Montsant was founded in 2003 in Marçà, inside the building of the village's former wine cooperative, which had been in use since the early twentieth century. The project was started by Alfredo Arribas and Ricard Rofes; winemaker Stephen Pannell joined in 2007, and since late 2010 the winery has been part of the Parxet group.
The estate farms around 20 hectares, mostly old, low-yield carignan vines - some close to 70 years old - alongside grenache, the two traditional varieties of the area. Grapes are hand-harvested plot by plot from small terraced parcels, with each plot fermented and aged separately.
The wines take their names from Saint Bruno of Cologne, founder of the Carthusian order that has been present in Priorat since 1194: Brunus, Santbru, Bruberry and Santes, spanning reds, whites and rosés. Aging takes place in 170 barrels, 90% French oak and 10% American. The winery, on Carrer de Dalt 74 in Marçà, offers direct sales and is open to visitors on weekday mornings.
Imatge: loptr · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Sources: turismepriorat.org · vilaviniteca.es · todowine.com