The name comes from a tiny Valencian village, La Portera, where the first parcel of old-vine Bobal sparked the whole project. Today the wines also reach north into the high vineyards of Aragon.
Backstory
La Portera began in 2017, when Jorge Navascues and Javier del Blanco set out to bottle small plots of old-vine Bobal from Javier's home region near Valencia. Francisco Santiso later joined them. All three are seasoned professionals who advise and run other respected Spanish estates, so the project is a labor of love pursued alongside their day jobs. Jorge represents the third generation of winemakers in Aragon and the fourth generation of growers in Requena. The debut wine, La Pinada, drew international critical praise on release and confirmed the direction.
The Region
In 2019 La Portera expanded into Cariñena, in Aragon near Zaragoza. It is one of Spain's oldest appellations, granted Denominacion de Origen status in 1932, and a historic stronghold of Garnacha. This is high, continental country, with hot days and cold nights that give the old vines structure and freshness in equal measure.
Vineyards and Farming
The La Portera Cariñena Garnacha grows on a couple of plots of clay and limestone soils at around 650 meters elevation, where altitude tempers the Aragonese heat. The team's stated philosophy is to find the right combination of vine, soil, and climate for each wine, working old, low-yielding vines that earlier generations had largely overlooked. The grapes that anchor the project, Bobal and Garnacha, once covered vast areas of Spain before falling out of fashion.
Winemaking
La Portera cellar work is deliberately minimal, built to let each variety and site show clearly. Fermentations and handling stay hands-off, prioritizing transparency over technique. The aim, in the producers' own words, is fresh, distinctive wines with a true sense of place rather than anything heavy or overworked.
The Wines
The La Portera Cariñena range carries the Tardano label, with a Garnacha that speaks to Jorge's Aragonese roots and a white from Macabeo, both grown on the high clay-limestone plots. From Valencia, La Pinada showcases the original old-vine Bobal that started everything. Each is a small-production, terroir-first wine that puts forgotten Spanish grapes back at the center of the glass and argues that Cariñena and old-vine Bobal deserve a fresh look. We carry the Tardano Macabeo.
