The Mertolenga cattle breed

The Phoenicians called it Myrtillis, the Romans changed its name to Mirtilis Iulia and it is now Mértola, a city near the Portugal-Spain border and one of the oldest in the ancient province of Lusitania, with evidence of neolhitic occupation. It was later the capital of a small islamic emirate and eventually it gave its name to an important and valued breed of cattle, the Mertolenga.

That, back in the 1970s,  was the chosen breed to be reared on RG Rovisco Garcia’s lands. The cattle is bred in an extensive management system, roaming free and feeding on our rainfed and irrigated pastures.

All the tasty and juicy beef that comes from RG Rovisco Garcia estates is labelled Carne Mertolenga DOP (Mertolenga Meat, Protected Designation of Origin).