Picual, and only Picual
Picual is the most widely planted olive variety in the world, and the one we know best. Nothing else is blended in: what is in the bottle is Picual from this grove.
It is the most stable variety there is. It holds up over months and in a hot pan without losing its character, which is why an open bottle does not fall apart in a fortnight.
Grown rain-fed and high up, it gives an oil that is powerful but straight: plenty of fruit, clear bitterness, and a pepperiness that stays at the back of the throat.
The less you touch it, the better it is
We pick early, while the fruit is still green, and mill the same day. The oil loses yield and gains everything else.
Picked green
While the olives are still green. Considerably less oil per kilo, but this is when the fruit has all its aroma and all its character.
Milled the same day
Straight from the grove to the mill, so the fruit never ferments or heats up in the heap. One extra day shows in the glass.
Cold extraction
Below 27 °C. Warming the paste raises the yield, but it takes with it the very aromas we went looking for.
Every batch tasted
Analysed and tasted before bottling. If a batch is not up to standard, it does not go out under this label.
What it is like to taste
Intensely green and fruity, clean and expressive. Bitterness and pepperiness are both present and where they should be: these are signs of a young, well-made oil, not faults.
On the nose
- Freshly milled green olive
- Olive leaf
- Tomato vine
- Fresh grass
- Fennel
Underneath
- Green almond
- Green apple
- Fig leaf
Freshly milled green olive
Olive leaf, green almond
At the back of the throat
Where it shines
A Picual like this wants food that can stand up to it. Raw is where you understand it best, but it is not an oil to save for special occasions.
Raw
On toasted bread with a pinch of salt. The real test of any oil.
Vegetables and salads
Tomato, roasted pepper, warm pulses. This is where the bitterness earns its keep.
Meat and fish
A thread of it at the end, already off the heat, so it keeps its aroma.
Frying
Holds temperature better than any other variety and can be reused more often.
Away from light and from the hob
Light and heat are the only things that spoil good oil. Keep it in a cool cupboard and the last pour will taste like the first.
What we are allowed to say
Extra virgin olive oil is the reference fat of the Mediterranean diet.
Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats in the diet contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels. Oleic acid, the main fatty acid in our oil, is an unsaturated fat.