Harvesting and milling

Similar to that of a great wine, each detail of the oil production is carefully seen to. Only healthy selected fruit which have come from healthy trees are taken to the mill. The harvesting is carried out using combs and nets, and the olives are transported in open-work boxes in batches of 15kg. The olives come exclusively from our estate.

We harvest the olives at an early stage so as to achieve a high concentration of poly-phenol (anti-oxidant) as well as to pick up the "green" aromas. We therefore find ourselves producing very characteristic oils, bitter and fiery, with a very distinctive aromatic persona.

        The olives are milled as soon as possible after harvesting in order to avoid oxidation (3 to 6 hours at the most). They are crushed in my cousin's mill (OLIOMIO 700kg/H) which provides a 2 phase system, milling by both percussion and by horizontal centrifugal force. A mill will be installed on the estate as soon as all the trees are ready to produce.

        I mill the different varieties separately, so as to retain their individual character. Nevertheless, we have decided to produce blended oils in order to be able to offer a more original and complex product. The varieties that we blend all come from the same plots of ground so as to retain the character derived from a single soil (a kind of marriage in the fields as well as in the bottle).

Storage

        The oil is stored in stainless steel tanks with floating lids, away from heat and light. At the moment the oil is not filtered, but it can be upon request. The oil is only bottled when an order comes in, so as to limit oxidation. Oil is never brought in from elsewhere, and vintages are never mixed, this is one of our estate's guarantees. Each year the oil is analysed by an independent laboratory, and the results are available upon request.

From a health point of view

        Olive oil is pure fruit juice, and doesn't contain additives, colourings or conservatives. It is therefore a healthy product, and one of the basic ingredients of Mediterranean cooking. Olive oil is rich in anti-oxidants (such as vitamin E and poly-phenols) which can help prevent cardio-vascular diseases and ageing. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fats, which unlike saturated fats (found in butter, meat, cheese...); diminish levels of "bad cholesterol". It also contains oleic acids, which help maintain a healthy digestive system.