The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Aceite Montes de Toledo has presented in Madrid the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) of the new 2023 harvest, in an event aimed at the media at the Tourist Promotion Office of Castilla-La Mancha, located in Gran Vía street.
The event, which was presided over by the Director General of Agrifood Production and Cooperatives of the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, Elena Escobar Sánchez, was attended by the provincial delegate of Agriculture in Toledo, Elena Martín Bravo, and the president of the Regulatory Council of the Montes de Toledo Designation of Origin, Gregorio Gómez López.
Elena Escobar praised the work of the nearly 10,000 olive growers who cultivate more than 35,000 hectares of land in 128 municipalities in the provinces of Ciudad Real and Toledo, covered by the Montes de Toledo Designation of Origin, "the most important in the region", for producing high quality oils, year after year, and maintaining the cultivation of the region's native cornicabra olive. In this respect, Escobar commented on the importance of the olive oil sector for Castilla-La Mancha, which, together with vineyards, are the main socio-economic assets of the region.
Similarly, he emphasised the work of the Montes de Toledo PDO Tasting Panel, the only one belonging to a Regulatory Council to be accredited by ENAC, which provides a service to producers throughout Castilla-La Mancha for quality controls and, in turn, is used by the Regional Ministry of Agriculture in the evaluation of the "Gran Selección" Awards, promoted by the regional government. In the same vein, he highlighted the PDO's support for the "Campo y Alma" brand, which encompasses 37 differentiated quality figures in Castile-La Mancha, recalling that Montes de Toledo was the first to include its seal on the labels of its oils, which gives "added value" to its products.
For his part, Gregorio Gómez highlighted the "very high quality" of the oils from the current olive season, which, despite being somewhat shorter than other years in Castilla-La Mancha, has managed to keep the fruit healthy on the tree thanks to the rains in recent months. "I have been working in the olive sector for almost 50 years and I can affirm that this season's oil is one of the best I have seen and tasted. That is why it is one of the best in the world", he declared.