Best Tagus Wines Revealed

The big winners of the most recent Wines of the Tagus Contest were the Detail Reserva white 2021 – a debut launched this year by Adega do Cartaxo – and the Quinta de Santo André Reserva red 2019 – a classic from Coruche producer M. Veiga Teixeira. 

 Prioritizing the work of union and joint promotion of the region, carried out around the queen of the Tagus grape variety, the Regional Wine Commission of the Tagus Wines (CVR Tejo) decided, starting this year, to choose the best wines of Fernão Pires, under two seals : Best Fernão Pires in the Contest and Best Course in the Tagus Fernão Pires. The chosen whites are, like Detail, two premieres, both produced in Alpiarça by Quinta da Lagoalva: Quinta da Lagoalva Grande Reserva Fernão Pires 2021 (also Gold medal winner) and Campo do Tejo Fernão Pires by Quinta da Lagoalva 2022 , respectively. This producer also stood out with the Best White of the Harvest 2022, awarded to Lagoalva Reserva Arinto & Chardonnay (also Grand Gold medal winner), with the Best Rosé of this vintage being Quinta do Casal Monteiro (also Gold medal winner) from the producer of the same name. Still with regard to the 13th edition of this competition, 220 wines were tasted by 39 judges – these being the highest numbers ever – and the two aforementioned medals of Excellence were awarded, 9 Grand Gold, 36 Gold and 24 Silver. . 

 People and other companies also received awards: David Ferreira, from Companhia das Lezírias, was Winemaker of the Year. The Career Prize was awarded to Teresa Schönborn, from Casa Cadaval, and José Lobo de Vasconcelos, from Casal Branco. Adega do Cartaxo was elected as a Company of Excellence and Fiuza Wines as a Company of Dynamism. 

 Promoted by the Rota dos Vinhos do Tejo, with the aim of rewarding dynamism with regard to the territory – apart from wine and gastronomy, with its own prizes – there is, more recently, the Tejo Anima competition. In this year’s edition, there were nominees in three categories, having been distinguished: Casa Brava, in Santarém, as Accommodation; SóRio, in Valada, Cartaxo, in terms of Tourist Entertainment; and the Festa dos Tabuleiros, in Tomar, as a grandiose and highly regarded event promoting the region’s Traditions. 

 It was also time to reward those who stood out the most in the 2nd Wines of the Tagus Photography Contest, which this year received 32 entries. The first three prizes were awarded, in that order, to journalist and instagrammer Kitato, Luís Miguel Machado and Carlos Venceslau, curiously from Esposende, Leiria and Batalha. 

 The Tagus Wines Gala is an event organized by the Tejo Regional Wine Commission, in partnership with the Confraria Enófila de Nossa Senhora do Tejo, which is in charge of its production, and in this edition, it had the sponsorship and support of entities such as CA Seguros, Verallia, Amorim Cork, Agroeno, Borrego – Leonor & Irmão, OPAL, Travel Care, Gifts4Wine, Martin Vialatte, AZ3 Oeno, Cork Supply and SAI Oenological Sensitivity. 

Photography: Gonçalo Villaverde