Tiago Cartageno is the sixth generation of the family farm that was created in São Mamede de Ribatua by the sculptor José Joaquim Teixeira Lopes and his wife Rachel Pereira de Meireles in the 1880s. in that direction, but on his travels around the world he felt the appeal of the Douro and a desire to change modern practices. In 2015 the conversion of the farm to organic farming began and in 2017 Tiago carried out his first harvest on his return to the land. A fan of the syntropic agricultural methods he discovered in Brazil, Tiago favors the cohabitation of various species of plants, shrubs and trees, letting trees grow alongside or inside the vines and looking for a great diversity of crops that accompany the vine, such as olives, citrus, hazelnut trees, apple trees, cypresses, pine trees. In keeping with this approach, the farm is cultivated according to the principles of organic farming in order to enhance all the life that this rich ecosystem contains.
The farm was established in a privileged area on the banks of the Tua river, a tributary located north of the Douro river in the Cima Corgo qualitative sub-zone. 10 ha of vines are cultivated between 275 m and 500 m in altitude, in 5 different vineyards: Obra (3 ha, the oldest vine planted by the family, with more than 100 years), Ferrado (1 ha with the lowest vines and close to the river, and with greater thermal amplitude), Jugal (the largest vineyard with marked differences depending on the slope), Cárcoda (1 ha of vines, some centuries old with several varieties) and Ladeiras (1ha of vines replanted in 2015 with white varieties in the highest area, at almost 500 m altitude).
In a region that is still unsuitable for organic cultivation, Tiago had the courage to persist in his natural options and, inside the cellar, he decided to make wines without any intervention, also dispensing with sulfur, on a path that requires time and experience to consolidate a pioneering journey in the region. . The wines reflect the character of the place, luxuriant, with a beautiful complexity, departing from the conventional image of the Douro.
