The Retiree, the Handkerchief Factory & the Grape That Chose to Be Different
In Pedreguer, at the foot of Montgó, José Antonio Dólera — a young retiree devoting his second life to the land — recovered an abandoned parcel in 2013 and planted Chardonnay where Moscatel had always reigned, making zero-sulphite natural wines from a single two-hectare plot of limestone and clay.
Origin — 2013, the Abandoned Parcel & the Second Life
Finca Mont Roig began in 2013 as the recovery of a small abandoned parcel in Pedreguer, in the heart of the Marina Alta comarca of Alicante — a landscape of almond groves, dry stone walls, and the imposing presence of Montgó, the emblematic mountain that rises between the sea and the interior plain. But the project's true protagonist is José Antonio Dólera — a young retiree who, rather than settling into quiet leisure, chose to devote his second life to sustainable viticulture based on ecological and biodynamic principles. What began as a family project has become, under his direction, one of the most singular natural wine estates in the Valencian Community.
The origin was necessity, not romance. "The project arose approximately eight years ago, when it began to be seen that the existing crops were not profitable and that, over time, they were doomed to suffer heavy losses and thus abandonment," Dólera recalls. "That is why we devised an integral project that could add value throughout the chain. That is, the design of a sustainable farm that produced quality grapes and that could make quality wines." The existing crops — likely almonds and abandoned vines — were failing. The land was slipping into neglect. And José Antonio decided that the only way to save the parcel was to reimagine it entirely.
The first decision was unconventional — even radical. In a comarca where Moscatel de Alejandría has always been the dominant grape, where the local wine identity is built on Muscat and the sun, Dólera chose to plant Chardonnay. "We wanted to differentiate ourselves and offer something unique in the area," he explains. After acquiring planting rights and studying the soil characteristics — clay-loam, deep, and rich in limestone — he selected two specific Chardonnay clones adapted to the soil's varying humidity and lime content: 140RU and Fercals. In 2015, the first vines went into the ground. And in 2020, the first wine was born.
That first wine was named Marofe — a tribute to the grandfather of José Antonio's wife, who in 1918 established a handkerchief factory in Pedreguer under the brand name "Marofe". The name carries the weight of family industry, of entrepreneurial memory, and of a town that once made things with its hands. The wine, like the factory, is a product of Pedreguer — but it is also a statement: the future of this land can be different from its past, yet still faithful to its spirit. From handkerchiefs to Chardonnay. From textile to terroir. The second life had begun.
The Place — The Montgó, the Limestone & the Dry Stone Walls
Pedreguer sits in the Marina Alta, the northernmost comarca of Alicante, where the Montgó rises like a limestone sentinel between the coastal plain and the interior valleys. The Finca Mont Roig vineyard is located between Pedreguer and Gata de Gorgos, very close to the northwestern extremity of Montgó, near l'Alt de Benimaquía — an area with an ancestral connection to viticulture, where the Iberians already cultivated vines and made wine millennia ago. The estate comprises a single two-hectare parcel — small, focused, and utterly singular.
The Single Parcel — Two Hectares, One Vision
The vineyard was configured in 2013 from a small parcel, with adjoining plots added over time until it reached its current form of two hectares. The vines are trained on trellis (espaldera), oriented northeast-southeast, with rows 2.60 metres apart and 1.25 metres between vines — a spacing that allows air circulation, sun exposure, and manual access. The parcel is not large. It does not need to be. Dólera's philosophy is not expansion but intensification — to extract the maximum expression from a single, carefully managed plot rather than to dilute attention across many. The vineyard uses localized irrigation — not as a crutch, but as a precision tool in a climate of intense summer drought.
The Soil, the Climate & the Chardonnay
The soils are deep clay-loam, rich in limestone — a configuration that retains moisture, provides mineral nutrients, and imparts a distinct chalky freshness to the wines. The climate is pure Mediterranean: intense rainfall concentrated in autumn and spring, marked maritime influence from the nearby sea, and temperatures moderated by the Montgó massif. It was this specific combination — deep clay, high limestone, maritime humidity, and mountain shelter — that determined the choice of Chardonnay. Dólera understood that these soils could produce a dry, fresh, singular white — not a Burgundian copy, but a Mediterranean original. The two clones, 140RU and Fercals, were selected precisely to match the soil's varying lime content and humidity levels.
Regenerative Viticulture & the Dry Stone Walls
Finca Mont Roig is farmed according to regenerative and biodynamic principles. No chemical fertilizers. No herbicides. The soil is never tilled — the plough has been eliminated — and a permanent green cover is maintained year-round to prevent erosion, fix nitrogen, and provide habitat for beneficial insects. Pruning clippings are deposited in alternate rows and later shredded, returning organic matter to the soil. In different parts of the plot, the ancient dry stone borders have been restored — not merely as decoration, but as structural elements that shape the vineyard's integration into the landscape. Cypresses have been planted. Native flora — sage, chamomile, St. John's wort — has been reintroduced to the margins. The vineyard is not imposed on the land. It is reintegrated into it.
Montgó & l'Alt de Benimaquía — The Iberian Legacy
The vineyard sits in the shadow of Montgó, a mountain sacred to the region, and near l'Alt de Benimaquía, where archaeological evidence confirms that Iberian peoples cultivated vines and produced wine as far back as the 7th century BC. Dólera is not inventing viticulture in this place. He is resuming it — after a hiatus of millennia, on the same slopes, with the same limestone beneath the vines. The almond trees that surround the vineyard are not merely neighbours. They are witnesses — to the Phoenicians, to the Romans, to the Moors, and now to a retiree who decided that Chardonnay belonged here too.
Winemaking — The Holistic Idea, the Indigenous Yeast & Nothing Added
José Antonio Dólera's philosophy is captured in a single word: holistic. From the beginning, the project was designed as an integral system in which the type of cultivation, the dry stone borders, the soil typology, the climate, the geographic situation, and the trellis system all formed a single, interdependent whole. "It was about integrating the vineyard into the landscape by intervening as little as possible and carrying out vineyard management compatible with the environment," he explains. This is not winemaking as extraction. It is winemaking as integration — the vine as one element in a larger ecological and aesthetic composition.
The cellar practice follows the vineyard philosophy with absolute consistency. The wines are natural — fermented with indigenous yeasts from the grape skins and the vineyard environment, with no added sulphites, no additives, and no clarifying agents. "We chose natural wine because it represents our environmental and sustainability ideas," Dólera states. "The wine, when drunk, should express the expression of the grape and the vineyard, since the yeasts it incorporates are from the land itself and it has no added sulphites or clarifiers." The only concession to market reality is a light filtration — a gentle nod to consumers still unfamiliar with the aesthetics of natural wine.
The vinification itself takes place not at Finca Mont Roig, but in Planes, at the Cup de la Muntanya winery — a collaboration with Hilari Calabuig that covers both maturation and marketing. The grapes are hand-harvested into 15-kilogram boxes to prevent damage from their own weight, then stored in a refrigerated truck until they reach the cellar. Fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks for the fresh wines, in French oak barrels for the aged cuvées, and with skin contact for the blends. The approach is not dogmatic about vessels. It is dogmatic about grape quality and yeast honesty.
The elaboration of natural wine, Dólera admits, is more complex and requires much more attention than industrial winemaking. Without sulphites to stabilize, without selected yeasts to control, without enzymes to correct, every decision in the vineyard is amplified in the cellar. The winemaker cannot correct. He can only anticipate, observe, and trust. This is the discipline that Dólera has embraced in his second life — not the relaxation of retirement, but the intensification of attention.
The Wines — From the Handkerchief Factory to the Mozarabic Blend
Finca Mont Roig produces a focused range of natural wines — whites and a red — all made with indigenous yeasts, zero added sulphites, and no clarifying agents. The vinification takes place in collaboration with Cup de la Muntanya in Planes. The range is small but precisely calibrated: a fresh stainless-steel Chardonnay, an oak-aged Chardonnay, a three-grape Mediterranean blend with skin contact, and a young Syrah that announces the future. At full production, the estate will reach approximately 15,000 bottles. For now, scarcity is part of the character.
Finca Mont Roig "Marofe"
White — Pedreguer, Marina AltaThe estate's first wine and signature white — 100% Chardonnay, fermented in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts. 12.5% ABV. Natural, dry, with no added sulphites. The nose is intense and attractive: floral notes, candied fruit, citrus, and tropical fruit. The palate is expressive and prolonged — dry, fresh, with a soft acidity and a certain salinity. Flavours of ripe apple, honey, citrus, summer fruit, and a hint of spice. Straw-yellow, almost golden, luminous with greenish tones. The name Marofe pays tribute to the grandfather of José Antonio's wife, who founded a handkerchief factory in Pedreguer in 1918 under this same brand. ~2,500 bottles (2020). First vintage: 2020.
Finca Mont Roig "Rosers"
White — Pedreguer, Marina AltaA 100% Chardonnay aged for three months in French oak barrels — the more structured, gastronomic sibling of Marofe. 12.5% ABV. Natural, dry, no added sulphites. The nose offers vanilla, caramel, peach, citrus, pineapple, and fruit salad, with spice and toasted caramel from the wood. The palate is dry, fresh, and rich, with a very soft acidity and notes of pastry, sweet caramel, pepper, clove, yoghurt, and smoke — all balanced by the characteristic freshness of the terroir. Elegant, fluid, with excellent mouthfeel — long and silky. The label pays homage to the "escaldàs" de la pasa — the traditional scalded raisin — a nod to the cultural richness of the Marina Alta. ~510 bottles (2020). Vintage 2021.
Finca Mont Roig "Bisserot"
White — Pedreguer / Planes, Marina AltaA three-grape Mediterranean conversation — 80% Chardonnay, 10% Moscatel de Alejandría, and 10% Viognier (the Viognier sourced from Planes, through the collaboration with Cup de la Muntanya). The Moscatel and Viognier undergo a 48-hour skin maceration before pressing, adding texture and aromatic complexity. 12.5% ABV. Natural, dry, zero sulphites. The name Bisserot refers to the ancient Mozarabic settlement of the zone — a symbol of the region's historical richness at the intersection of cultures. The wine is complex and vivacious: floral aromas of almond, geranium, and jasmine; fruit notes of green apple, grapefruit, pear, tropical fruit, and melon. Long, savoury, expressive, and alive — with a soft acidity that brings freshness and a saline finish. Vintage 2022.
Finca Mont Roig "Tossal Roig"
Red — Pedreguer, Marina AltaThe first red and latest addition to the portfolio — 100% Syrah from vineyards near the Muntanya de la Sella, in the shadow of Montgó. 13% ABV. Natural, dry, fermented in stainless steel, with no added sulphites and wild yeasts. The colour is brilliant violet-red, luminous with purple tones. The nose is intense and fruity — raspberry, blackcurrant, blackberry, cinnamon, pepper, and clove. The palate is expressive and prolonged, with a dry extract, intense but smooth flavour, acidic nuances, and light tannin. A wine that expresses the character of the territory — a Mediterranean red of authentic personality. The 2023 vintage is already sold out — a testament to the demand for honest, limited-production natural wine from this corner of Alicante. First vintage: 2023.
Finca Mont Roig "Merseguera" (Future Release)
White — Pedreguer, Marina AltaThe next chapter — plantings of the autochthonous Merseguera variety have already been established on the estate, signalling Dólera's commitment not only to the Chardonnay that made his reputation but also to the native grapes that preceded it. Merseguera is a Valencian white of extraordinary mineral character — pithy, spicy, and saline — capable of producing wines of crystalline purity when farmed with patience. When these vines reach maturity, they will add a new voice to the Finca Mont Roig chorus: not the voice of differentiation, but the voice of return — the native grape speaking from its native soil. Natural. Zero sulphites. Indigenous yeast. Coming soon.
Finca Mont Roig Experimental / Limited Releases
Variable — Pedreguer, Marina AltaJosé Antonio Dólera's experimental edge — small-lot cuvées that test the boundaries of what the Montgó terroir can express. These may include extended skin-contact Chardonnays, single-clone bottlings comparing 140RU and Fercals, amphora-aged whites, or early-harvest Syrahs that push the variety toward freshness rather than power. The common thread is zero sulphites, indigenous yeast, and total creative freedom guided by the vintage and the two-hectare parcel. These wines are not always available. When they are, they are shared with the small community of collectors who understand that Finca Mont Roig's experiments are not diversions but genuine inquiries into what limestone, clay, and the Mediterranean breeze can produce when a retiree pays attention.
Legacy — The Retiree, the Regenerative Vine & the Grape That Defied the Comarca
Finca Mont Roig matters because it is one of the most deliberately singular natural wine projects in the Marina Alta — the work of a retiree who, rather than accepting the conventional wisdom that this comarca belongs to Moscatel, decided that Chardonnay could speak here too — and then proved it with wines of freshness, salinity, and Mediterranean character that have found an audience far beyond Pedreguer. In a region where bulk Muscat and industrial tourism have long dominated, José Antonio Dólera has shown that regenerative viticulture, indigenous yeast, and zero sulphites can produce wines that are both distinct and deeply faithful to their land.
His legacy is agricultural. By recovering an abandoned parcel in 2013, by restoring dry stone walls that had collapsed, by eliminating tillage and maintaining permanent green cover, by planting cypresses and reintroducing native flora to the margins, and by farming two hectares according to ecological and biodynamic principles, Dólera has created a model for Mediterranean viticulture that treats the vineyard not as a factory but as a garden within a landscape. The soil has gained structure and life over ten years. Treatments have decreased every year. The vineyard is learning to care for itself.
His legacy is also oenological. The Marofe — 100% Chardonnay, stainless steel, 12.5% ABV, zero sulphites, straw-gold and saline — is a wine that almost no one else in the Marina Alta makes, because almost no one else has the patience to plant Chardonnay on limestone and wait for it to speak. The Rosers — three months in French oak, pastry and peach, 510 bottles — proves that natural wine can achieve gastronomic sophistication without additives. And the Bisserot — a three-grape blend named for a Mozarabic settlement, with 48 hours of skin contact — demonstrates that history can be bottled.
And his legacy is philosophical. "Uno de nuestros objetivos es integrar el viñedo en el paisaje interviniendo lo menos posible y llevando una gestión compatible con el medio ambiente." "Optamos por el vino natural ya que representa nuestras ideas medioambientales y de sostenibilidad." These are not slogans. They are the operating principles of a man who began his second life by asking what the land needed, not what the market wanted. The handkerchief factory that became a wine label. The abandoned parcel that became a vineyard. The retiree who became a regenerative farmer. Each transformation is a refusal to accept that endings are inevitable.
From the handkerchief factory of 1918 to the natural wine of 2020, from the abandoned almond groves to the trellised Chardonnay, from the dry stone walls of the Iberians to the biodynamic principles of a young retiree, Finca Mont Roig is a testament to what happens when a man decides that the best way to honour the past is to reimagine the future — and that the best way to grow old is to grow vines. The Montgó watches. The limestone listens. And the drinker is refreshed.